The USA came through a nail-biting Gold Cup quarterfinal against Costa Rica on Sunday night as they reached the last four after a dramatic penalty shootout.
Mauricio Pochettino‘s side had Matt Freese to thank, with the goalkeeper making three saves in the shootout before Damion Downs scored to ensure the USMNT reached a 13th straight Gold Cup semifinal.
The game headed to a shootout with the two teams locked at 2-2 after 90 minutes in Minnesota.
Sebastian Berhalter, the son of former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter, was one of two Americans to miss from the spot.
Berhalter Sr and his family were watching from the stands in Minneapolis as Sebastian blazed his penalty over. John Tolkin was also denied as the shootout went to sudden death.
But Freese then saved back-to-back penalties to keep alive the United States’ hopes of Gold Cup glory.
The USA came through a nail-biting Gold Cup quarterfinal against Costa Rica on Sunday night
Mauricio Pochettino’s side had Matt Freese to thank after he saved three penalty kicks
Former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter had to watch as his son Sebastian missed from the spot
Pochettino’s team had to come from behind after Francisco Calvo scored an early penalty to give Costa Rica the lead.
The United States had their own chance to score from the spot, only for Malik Tillman to hit the post.
But goals from Diego Luna and Max Arfsten turned the game on its head before Alonso Martinez made it 2-2 in the 71st minute.
The match went straight from regulation to penalties, with Downs sparing his teammates’ blushes as he scored the winning penalty against Keylor Navas.
The Americans will face Guatemala in the semifinals.
