Sunday night was chaotic, to put it lightly, but the shootout victory ended with the U.S. booking their spot in the semifinals
This game will be remembered by U.S. men's national team fans for all its chaotic energy, the tension of a sensational shootout and a death-defying ride on the Max Arfsten rollercoaster. Dips, turns, highs, lows, and everything in between, it was a rollercoaster Arfsten will never to repeat.
Such was the madness of it all. This ride was not for the faint of heart.
In fact, nothing on Sunday was, all the way through to the shootout. In the end, though, the U.S. rode the highest peak of that rollercoaster, and with a Gold Cup semifinal spot on the line, emerged with a shootout win over Costa Rica, seemingly against all odds.
The game finished 2-2 through 90, with Arfsten playing a direct part in all four goals – good and bad. He conceded a penalty on the first and assisted the second. He then went out and scored the game's third. But then, seemingly in the clear, he and Luca de la Torre were dribbled past on the fourth, setting up a shootout that – perhaps in the ultimate irony – Arfsten wouldn't get to participate in.
The chaos continued even without him, though. Standing tall at the end of it all was Matt Freese, who stopped three of Costa Rica's six shots from the spot to send the U.S. through, 4-3, in penalties. He, ultimately, was the hero, but he wasn't the only one. For the U.S., this was a test of resilience, and Freese, like several of his teammates, showed that ability to bounce back.
So, too, did Arfsten. Malik Tillman did as well, missing a penalty in the first half before making one in the shootout. Diego Luna scored a master-class goal that gave Mauricio Pochettino's side a needed boost at a critical time. Overall, the U.S. rolled with the punches, and that's why they're still in the competition.
"Today, they showed great character," Pochettino said. "I think it's good for this group of players to have this type of experience. I always said it's really important because the reality is, when you're in a big tournament, these things can happen, and it's important that they experience them
"OK, we give a penalty, we get a penalty, we miss a penalty. But the team kept going and kept believing in the way we play."
Now, Pochettino will hope the semifinal against Guatemala on Wednesday night isn't quite as chaotic. This particular ride is over, but the USMNT – winners of four straight now in this Gold Cup, having lost four in a row entering the tournament – have at least one more coming.
GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from U.S. Bank Stadium.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Matt Freese
Freese could not have been more prepared for this moment. Most goalkeepers spend hours studying how penalty shootouts could go. The Harvard-educated Freese took things a step further.
"I actually did a very long research project in college about penalty kicks," said Freese, who recently told GOAL about two other soccer-related projects he did in college. "To be able to rely on that type of thing and deal with statistics, reading their hips, things like that, it's all massive."
It sure was. Freese stopped three of Costa Rica's six penalty kicks. He even guessed right on two that he didn't save. Freese was clearly prepared in the closing minues, and it was largely based on data and analytics.
Ultimately, though, shootouts are defined by mentality. Which players can keep it together? Which crack? In the moments when he wasn't in goal, Freese made sure to keep his head, turning the focus within and not to the chaos around him.
"After the first save, I went over to the corner and just kept repeating to myself, 'I want another, I want another.' " Freese said. "Then, after the second, I did the same thing. I just kept telling myself that I wanted another. You can't get too happy with yourself. You can't get complacent in the middle of a shootout."
He didn't and the U.S. won as a result. On Sunday, Freese was the ultimate star, and it doesn't take any numbers, data or research projects to prove it.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWINNER/LOSER: Max Arfsten
What can you even say about Arfsten's game on Sunday? Was it good? Was it bad? It's really hard to say. What can be said, though, is that Arfsten's fingerprints were all over this one.
"Football has its ups and downs," Arfsten said. "Everybody knows that. For me, it was all about making my mark on this game."
It easily could have unraveled for Arfsten. Just minutes into Sunday's match, he conceded a back-breaking penalty, one that threatened to derail the USMNT's knockout round campaign before it ever got going.
Throughout the tournament, Pochettino has often said that the most important action is the next one. Arfsten seemingly took that to heart, shaking off his early mistake to provide a goal and an assist to help lead the U.S. to victory. His first action was a disaster, but Arfsten didn't let that stop him from finding a way to make up for it.
"I wanted to get my get-back, as some would say," Arfsten said, "and really make my mark on this game. I feel like I did that."
There was no fairytale ending, though. After contributing to the USMNT goals, Arfsten was directly involved in Costa Rica's second, too, getting dribbled past en route to Alonso Martinez's goal. It was a night of extraordinary highs and extraordinary lows. Arfsten, somehow, was involved in most of them.
"Obviously, though, there's always room to improve," he said, "but I'm happy with how I showed resiliency."
Getty Images SportWINNER: Diego Luna
It wasn't just the goal, but the timing of it. Moments before Luna hit the back of the net, the USMNT were about as low as could be. Down a goal and fresh off a missed penalty, the U.S. needed a pick-me-up.
And so Luna, as he so often does, put the team on his shoulders and made something happen. It required a generous deflection, yes, but fortune favors the bold, and Luna remains the USMNT's boldest star.
So much unfolded after it that it will likely get overlooked. Luna was long gone by the time the shootout started, and his goal was, in some ways, a distant memory given all of the chaos that happened after. That doesn't diminish Luna's impact, though, nor the impact his finish had on uplifting a young team that desperately needed it.
"A lot of ups and downs," Luna said postgame, "but that's soccer, right? I think the biggest thing is to stay mentally strong and stay positive through those tough times. Then, if it doesn't go your way, it doesn't but staying positive gives you the benefit of the doubt sometimes."
Luna continues to make a positive impact, which is why he remains such a crucial piece of this team.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Costa Rica
After the match, the USMNT's players didn't mince words. There was no sympathy for Costa Rica, and that mindset stemmed from one particular incident.
Following Tillman's missed penalty, the American midfielder was surrounded by celebrating Costa Rican players. It's a bit of he-said, he-said, of course. But whatever happened in that moment led to a very angry USMNT group. A scuffle started from that, in some ways, woke the USMNT up.
"All these teams love mind games," said Tyler Adams, who buried the USMNT's first penalty in the shootout. "It's fun. It's part of it for me. I wasn't involved in it because I know better at this point! I knew if I got a yellow, I would miss the next one but, trust me, I wanted to be more involved. In the end, we're moving on, and that's all that matters."
When the night was over and the U.S. were victorious in their own shootout, they didn't feel particularly bad for the team whose night ended with their own missed penalties. Costa Rica had their chance, particularly with the U.S. missing two of their spot kicks in extra time. They were unable to take it. According to Luna, there's a reason why.
"It's bad sportsmanship to do that to an opposition player," said Luna. "You can say it now and look at it all as karma, right? That's just something you don't do."