Costa Rica vs. USA: World Cup 2018 Qualifying Live Stream, Preview

The United States have the chance to bounce back from their disappointing loss to Mexico on Tuesday, as they take on Costa Rica in their latest FIFA World Cup qualifying match.

U.S. men's national team boss Jurgen Klinsmann would have been hugely disappointed to see his side lose to rivals Mexico late on last time out and will need to rally his troops ahead of this vital contest. Costa Rica, who were surprise semi-finalists at the previous World Cup, will pose a major challenge, though.

While it’s still early in the Hexagonal qualifying round, both teams will be well aware of how significant it can be to build momentum early on.

Here’s a look at how you can sample what should be a fascinating tussle and a preview of how this game in San Jose, Costa Rica, is likely to pan out:

Date: Tuesday, November 13

Time: 9 p.m. (ET), 8 p.m. (Local), 2 a.m. Wed. (GMT)

Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)

USMNT Under Pressure to Perform

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

For the United States, a home clash with Mexico represented a brilliant chance to stamp their authority on the CONCACAF qualifying. But they turned in a passive performance, eventually capped off by a late winner from veteran Rafael Marquez for El Tri.

Now the pressure is on for this underperforming crop of players to avoid back-to-back defeats to start the Hexagonal phase.

“The message is very simple,” Klinsmann said ahead of this one, per Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated. “We’ve got to go down there and get a result, which we will do.”

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Throughout the German’s time in charge of the United States, they’ve suffered numerous disappointments at the start of campaigns and typically recovered well.

However, Kurtis Larson of the Toronto Sun is unsure whether these setbacks should be tolerated anymore:

Should the USMNT fall to defeat on Tuesday, then there’ll be even more scrutiny on Klinsmann’s position. The players at his disposal undoubtedly possess the talent needed to pick up a positive result, but they’ll have to overturn the United States’ rotten record in the country; they’ve never won in Costa Rica in 10 attempts, losing eight.

The home side are looking in decent shape themselves coming into this one. They got their qualification off to a fine start with a routine 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago.

ALVA VIARRUEL/Getty Images

In that match, there was a balance about Los Ticos, with Christian Bolanos, Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell consistently causing problems for the opposition in the final third. Additionally, they have a world-class goalkeeper between the sticks in Keylor Navas, who’ll pose a huge obstacle to the United States forwards.

As noted by Nathan Carr of The Home of Caribbean football, the conditions and the atmosphere in Central America also make it difficult for visitors to perform to their best:

That’s evident in the record the United States have in Costa Rica. So often the team has failed to showcase the industry and tenacity that has become their trademark at full flight in these matches; low confidence in the camp following the gutting loss to Mexico will not make things any easier for the visitors, either.

Costa Rica will look to prey on those frailties in the USMNT squad, and provided they show the same vigour that was bristling in their win over Trinidad & Tobago, they’ll make issues for the visitors.

Nevertheless, Klinsmann’s players are a determined bunch who have thrived under adversity before; they’ll dig in to secure a gritty draw.

Prediction: Costa Rica 1-1 United States