The United States beat Costa Rica 3-0 on Wednesday to make it two wins from two games for a squad packed with MLS players during the Americans’ annual January camp.
Vancouver Whitecaps striker Brian White opened the scoring for the U.S., beating Esteban Alvarado after Diego Luna played him into the area with an incisive through ball.
White, who turns 29 on Feb. 3, became the oldest American to score his first international goal since 29-year-old Matt Besler in 2016.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side, fresh off a win over Venezuela in another friendly on Saturday, needed a big save from Zack Steffen late in the first half to preserve its 1-0 lead at the break.
Steffen came up big for the U.S. again in the second half, before Caden Clark and Patrick Agyemang scored a pair of stellar goals late in the match to put the game away.
“He performed really, really well,” Pochettino said about Steffen. “A few saves were amazing. He showed the quality that he has as a keeper.”
It was the second goal in as many games for Agyemang, who scored on his debut for the U.S. in the 3-0 win over Venezuela.
The result handed former Mexico coach Miguel Herrera a loss in his first match since taking over the Costa Rica job.
Pochettino will lead a full-strength U.S. side into action in March for the Concacaf Nations League finals, where the Americans will try to remain the only team to have ever won the competition since its inception in 2019.
“The inclusion of non-traditional players on the national team is very useful and provides new information about the real level of those players,” Pochettino said after the match.
“They are players with talent, with the ability to understand and adapt quickly to different ideas. And I think that will help us in the future to make better decisions and to create a balanced squad for future competitions.”
The U.S. opens play in the Nations League on March 20 against Panama at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Europe-based players will be available for the Nations League, one of just six training camps remaining with the top pool before players arrive ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Steffen was among eight changes to the starting lineup from Saturday’s win and defender Miles Robinson, among the three holdovers, made his first international start at right-back.
Central defenders Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman were added to the lineup along with left-back DeJuan Jones, Luna in midfield, winger Indiana Vassilev and White. Ream and Zimmerman became the first pair of over-30 non-goalkeepers to start since Ream and Michael Bradley in 2019.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
