Aggressive Start Imperative for USMNT in Must-Win Game Against Costa Rica

The United States men's national team enter Tuesday's clash with Costa Rica in last place of Group A at the Copa America Centenario. 

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding Friday's 2-0 loss to Colombia, Jurgen Klinsmann's men still have a chance to make a statement and set themselves up for a spot in the knockout round. In order to do that, the USMNT must display an aggressive brand of soccer against a familiar foe.

Tuesday's match should contain the feel of a home World Cup qualifier, and it should be considered a must-win game for the Yanks since Costa Rica already have a point and group leaders Colombia take on Paraguay on the same night. Clint Dempsey echoed that sentiment on Sunday when speaking to reporters.

"It's a must-win situation, backs against the wall," Dempsey said, per ESPNFC's Doug McIntyre. "It's going to be a difficult game. They know they got a result that puts them in position to get out of the group. And for us, it's a must-win. So it's going to be a difficult challenge."

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The Yanks should feel comfortable in that situation since they faced one just like it back in March during World Cup qualifying.

With their backs against the wall following a loss on the road to Guatemala, the USMNT returned home and secured three points with a solid performance at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, versus La Azul y Blanco. That victory cured all the concerns about moving on to the hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying. 

The game plan Klinsmann should institute for Tuesday's game at Soldier Field in Chicago must feature more aggression on the part of every attack-minded player. That starts with the forward trio of Bobby Wood, Gyasi Zardes and Dempsey.

The key for the three players up top will be movement against the three center-backs in the Ticos formation. If Wood and Zardes can cut in from the wing and find gaps in between the defenders, Dempsey should be able to feed them with quality passes in the penalty area. 

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This strategy may be easier to execute due to the absence of Costa Rica center-back Kendall Waston, who received a red card in the 94th minute of the Ticos opener against Paraguay on Saturday. His needless challenge left Oscar Ramirez's side shorthanded at the back.

In addition to not having the towering Waston in defense, Costa Rica are playing without injured No. 1 goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Patrick Pemberton is a decent netminder, but he is nowhere close to the Real Madrid man in terms of talent. 

If the USMNT test Pemberton early with a few shots on target, they should be able to beat him unless his performance mirrors Tim Howard's World Cup showing against Belgium.

However, that is a big "if" given the lack of quality chances the Yanks created on Friday night. Zardes moved well in the final third and Dempsey provided nice hold-up play on a few occasions, but everything failed to come together at once. 

In order to break down the Ticos even further on Tuesday, Klinsmann must tell his central midfielders to work in space against the duo of Yeltsin Tejeda and Celso Borges.

The insertion of Darlington Nagbe into the midfield should allow the Yanks to play a more aggressive style compared to Friday, when Jermaine Jones and Alejandro Bedoya played conservatively due to the dangerous counters Colombia are capable of. 

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Another hindrance from the Colombia match that won't carry over against Costa Rica is the constant threat of a few world-class playmakers that can strike at any time.

Now that they aren't facing Juan Cuadrado, Edwin Cardona and James Rodriguez, Fabian Johnson and DeAndre Yedlin should be able to join the attack more through overlapping runs. The full-backs will need to keep an eye on Marcos Urena and Joel Campbell, but they don't have to remain in the defensive end of the field for the entire match like they did on Friday. 

If the Yanks can go at the Ticos right away with dynamic runs from Yedlin and Johnson, Dempsey and others will have an opportunity to exploit the aerial advantage they'll have without Waston in the fold.

If everything comes together like this on Tuesday, USMNT should be flowing with confidence on home soil like they were in March against Guatemala. 

Earning a win over Costa Rica will set the Yanks up for advancement on Saturday against Paraguay in Philadelphia. However, if they come out flat and disappoint the fans in red, white and blue, the questions will again begin to surface about the direction of the program with the next World Cup two years away. 

Joe Tansey covers U.S. soccer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JTansey90.