USMNT-Costa Rica Preview: Gold Cup Quarterfinal at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis

The 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup is down to the final eight teams and the quarterfinals line the United States up to face Costa Rica at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The winner moves on to St. Louis, Missouri, and a date with either Canada or Guatemala at Energizer Park in the semifinals. This is the first-ever USMNT game at US Bank Stadium, but the fourth time the US plays in Minneapolis, a city that hosted likely the coldest-ever national team game during 2022 World Cup qualifying.

It's mercifully warmer during this Gold Cup, and during the group stage, Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT picked up three straight wins while only conceding one goal to top Group D, while Costa Rica had two narrow wins over Suriname and the Dominican Republic plus a 0-0 draw with Mexico to finish second in Group A.

Thus the stage is set for a juicy matchup if you're, say, a New York City FC fan who wants to see Costa Rica's Alonso Martínez go head-to-head with United States goalkeeper Matt Freese.

Beyond the NYCFC MVP Derby, this also represents the stiffest Gold Cup test yet for a United States team that entered the tournament in a minor and unfolding state of crisis but steadied things slightly by winning the first three group games to set up this do-or-die meeting with Los Ticos.

USMNT Scouting Report

• The pressure is on Matt Freese now that he's trying to be the USMNT's No 1 goalkeeper at the Gold Cup — and now that he's made his first mistake, conceding a poor goal to let Haiti equalize in the final group game. Post-Haiti win, Pochettino sounded likely to stick with Freese despite the error, but his situation bears watching knowing that the more experienced Matt Turner waits in the wings.

Matt Freese remains USMNT’s No 1 — for now

A look at the mistake made by NYCFC’s Matt Freese against Haiti, and the reasons why he’s still the starter of choice for USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Hudson River BlueOliver Strand

• The Starting XI was rotated for the final group game, but who comes back in for Pochettino now that it's the knockouts? He got good performances off the bench from the likes of Brenden Aaronson, Quinn Sullivan, and John Tolkin, but the plyers they replaced, Jack McGlynn, Diego Luna, and Max Arfsten, also looked good in the first two group matches.
• Malik Tillman has three goals scored in three games in the Gold Cup, tied with four other players for second-most goals in the tournament so far. During his star turn this tournament, he's been linked with a transfer from PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands to Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, so it's turning into quite the summer for Tillman.
• The eight goals scored by the USMNT during the group stage is the third-most among participating teams, and they've also attempted the second-most shots (45) and been the second-most-accurate passing team (89% completion rate) in the Gold Cup, trailing Panama in shots and passing accuracy, while behind both Panama and Canada in pure number of goals scored.
• The United States is unbeaten in all eight previous meetings with Costa Rica in the Concacaf Gold Cup, with the USMNT winning seven and settling for one draw. All these matches have been at home for the United States, a side effect of the Gold Cup being played entirely in America. The overall head-to-head between teams is more even, with the USMNT holding a slight 19W-6D-17L edge over Costa Rica in all-time games played.

Costa Rica Scouting Report

•Player Availability: Costa Rica will be missing their top scorer in the tournament, striker Manfred Ugalde, due to yellow card accumulation. They're also without starting wingback Joseph Mora due to yellow cards, while the promising 20-year-old Warren Madrigal remains out with an injury he suffered in the opening game vs Suriname.
• Without Ugalde, who scored three goals to lead Costa Rica, the pressure rises on Alonso Martínez of NYCFC to deliver up top. Martínez has attempted seven shots, second-most among Gold Cup players, and he scored and earned an assist in the 4-3 win over Suriname.
• Alonso will be asked to deliver at striker, while the seasoned veteran Keylor Navas will be in goal and will be expected to make life tough on the USMNT's attack. The 38-year-old Navas has 11 saves, the second-most behind Dominican Repulic goalkeeper Xavier Valdez's 14 saves.
• Miguel Herrera, former Mexico national team head coach, is off to a strong start in 2025 with Costa Rica, unbeaten in every game his Ticos have played since losing to the United States in a friendly back in January. Herrera won the Gold Cup as Mexico coach during the 2015 edition of the tournament.