For the second day in a row, Portland fans were left wondering if, ahead of a Timbers player's final World Cup game, their player would play. Only whereas Peru’s Andy Polo was left on the bench for a third game in a row yesterday, Costa Rica’s David Guzmán was in his team’s starting XI today. For the third game in a row.
The through line between Ricardo Gareca’s Peru and Óscar Ramirez’s Costa Rica was continuity. With each team precluded from reaching the knockout round after the results of their first two matches, World Cup watchers naturally wondered whether either would ring in major changes for their teams’ final group stage games, be that because of a need to change tactics or a desire to get their unused players some time at a World Cup.