[North Woods]

...both Mexico and Costa Rica have more talent than the USMNT.

Most of Costa Rica's team plays in a domestic league or MLS, plus they were missing a right back and three (!) center backs.

Despite that we rarely threatened to score. We traditionally struggle when we play there but the team looked lost and unmotivated. Brooks and Chandler both got player ratings of 2 by ESPN and it actually didn't seem overly harsh from what I watched.

Our relatively brightest spots (Wood and Pulisic) barely got the ball. If we play like this we won't qualify.

Luckily this is only two matches -- and two of the toughest based on opponent/location. We can still turn things around if we play at our normal level going forward.

[North Woods]

...both Mexico and Costa Rica have more talent than the USMNT.

Most of Costa Rica's team plays in a domestic league or MLS, plus they were missing a right back and three (!) center backs.

Despite that we rarely threatened to score. We traditionally struggle when we play there but the team looked lost and unmotivated. Brooks and Chandler both got player ratings of 2 by ESPN and it actually didn't seem overly harsh from what I watched.

Our relatively brightest spots (Wood and Pulisic) barely got the ball. If we play like this we won't qualify.

Luckily this is only two matches -- and two of the toughest based on opponent/location. We can still turn things around if we play at our normal level going forward.