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Costa Rica to give U.S. soccer team Gold Cup test it deserves

The Americans' three wins so far at the tournament have come against teams with vastly less talent and depth. Now they're going to pick on someone their own size.

The United States and Costa Rica will meet for the first time since the Ticos thumped the Americans 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier last November.
The United States and Costa Rica will meet for the first time since the Ticos thumped the Americans 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier last November.Read moreMoises Castillo/AP

The United States men's soccer team's three wins  at the CONCACAF Gold Cup have come against teams with vastly less talent and fewer resources. Now the Americans are going to pick on someone their own size.

Costa Rica will provide a great test in  the semifinal at 10 p.m. Saturday  ( Fox Sports 1 and Univision) — and, more important, a needed one.

Victories against Martinique, Nicaragua, and El Salvador don't say much about whether players battling for the last spots on the 2018 World Cup roster are good enough to make it. (Though beating those teams only by small margins might say something consequential.)

A win over the Ticos would send a stronger message. While they, like the Americans, haven't brought their entire A-team, they have more than enough star power to make Saturday's game a real challenge.

Start with playmaker Bryan Ruiz, who can turn a game singlehandedly. His matchup in midfield with Michael Bradley will be a big one to watch. Don't be surprised if Kellyn Acosta joins the U.S. starting lineup to help the effort. The 21-year-old from FC Dallas has a Bradley-esque mix of smarts and hustle, and is widely viewed as the U.S. captain's heir apparent.

Another key factor will be the teams' familiarity with each other. They've met seven times this decade, and Costa Rica owns a 4-3 edge — including two wins on American soil. They'll meet again this September in a massively important World Cup qualifier at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.

The last meeting was Costa Rica's 4-0 blowout win at home in a World Cup qualifier last November. It was the game that got Jurgen Klinsmann fired.

"Hopefully we can remember that," said current coach Bruce Arena, who is  undefeated in his 12-game tenure.

Along with the national teams' rivalry, players from both sides also cross paths often in Major League Soccer. Costa Rica's squad has four players from the league: defenders Francisco Calvo (Minnesota United) and Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps), midfielder David Guzmán (Portland Timbers), and forward Marco Ureña (San Jose Earthquakes).

Keep a particularly close eye on Waston. It won't be hard to do, because at 6-foot-5 he's almost impossible to miss.

He is especially familiar with a trio of American attackers who play for the Whitecaps' arch-rivals in the Pacific Northwest: Seattle's Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris, and Portland's Darlington Nagbe.

"He's a massive human being," Nagbe said. "He's very physical, he's very good at winning balls and tackles. Hopefully we can get the ball around him and try to play fast, and not make it a fight, which he likes."

Waston has also seen Bradley and Jozy Altidore more than usual, thanks to clashes with Toronto FC in Canada's domestic cup tournament.

"I love to play against the U.S., because the game is always open, and you never know who's going to win," Waston said. "We know that they're a tough team. Now with Bruce, everything has changed."

Waston will likely be joined on the back line by Calvo. Guzmán, one of Nagbe's Timbers teammates, is an enforcer in midfield. Ureña is likely to lead the Ticos' attack, playing off Ruiz's lethal runs and passes.

Fortunately for the Americans, the most dangerous player in Costa Rica's MLS contingent won't be on the field. Winger Rodney Wallace of New York City FC suffered a muscle injury in training between the end of the group stage and the start of the quarterfinals, and it happened too late for Costa Rica to call in a replacement player.

The Ticos will also be without superstar forward Joel Campbell, of English power Arsenal. He suffered a major knee injury during the group stage.

But Ruiz will still be there, and so will the history of drama and tension between the two nations.