It may not be the most eventful way to follow up a thrilling Concacaf Nations League final win, but the U.S. men's national team's friendly with Costa Rica was planned with bigger things in mind.
Following a friendly against Switzerland, a trans-Atlantic flight and two high-pressure Nations League matches against Honduras and Mexico, the Costa Rica friendly is meant to simulate a compact World Cup qualifying schedule with four games in 11 days (a club game overseas, followed by a three-game window in this region).
The friendly in Sandy, Utah, is also thought to be the final look at the full USMNT squad before World Cup qualifying in the fall with manager Gregg Berhalter expected to name a side much less dependent on European-based players for this summer's Gold Cup.