USA-Costa Rica: Five Reasons the Yanks Can't Win

Jason Davis, my leader, over at Match Fit USA gave you Five Reasons Why the Yanks Can Win in Costa Rica. It only seems right that his black cloud sidekick tell you why they can't win.


1. Estadio Ricardo Saprissa's notoriously bad surface will create all sorts of odd bounces and strange rifts in the space/time continuum through with the ball could travel and somehow end up in the back of Tim Howard's goal.

2. US is 0-6-1 in qualifiers in San Jose, Costa Rica. It's truly amazing in sports how past results and struggles can get in to the heads of professional athletes and create mental barriers that can effect performance. Once a team starts thinking that can't win somewhere, the next thing you know, they suddenly can't win somewhere. Next to Azteka, there is no place that vexes the USMNT like playing in Costa Rica and you can rest assured the fans will be in rare form to give a "loving and friendly" response when the Yanks go marching in.

3. Bob Bradley will play for the draw. With a match on home soil later in the week against Honduras, Bradley will sit back and try to escape Costa Rica with a point and no further injuries. Plus, with only two days between the matches, fatigue could be an issue so Bradley won't want to wear his team out with a "more winnable" match on the horizon. Add to this the fact that Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Frankie Hejduk and Oguchi Onyewu are all sitting on yellow cards and risk suspension if they pick up another. The last thing Bradley will want is a physical match that leaves his team broken, bruised and/or suspended and pointless with two days to prepare for Honduras.

4. Frankie Hejduk won't play due to injury and with Steve Cherundolo already out, the right fullback position is stretched thin against a Costa Rica side that can attack with some success. Add Maurice Edu's knee injury and Bradley has been forced to call on Ricardo Clark who sometimes mistakes people's head for the soccer ball. Bad karma. Then again, with the prospect of a rough, physical match looming, maybe having Clark will prove beneficial.

5. Coaching changes. Piotr Nowak has left US Soccer to take the reins of the Philadelphia Union creating just a little more unpredictability. We all know how much Bradley loves predictability and staying in his comfort zone. Nowak's departure may not really change anything, but if Bob starts to have a meltdown who will be there to save him!