United States 2-2 Costa Rica (4-3 pens): Freese penalty heroics secure semi-final berth
The United States had Matt Freese to thank for an impressive penalty shootout performance as they booked a place in the semi-finals.
The United States booked their place in the Gold Cup semi-finals at U.S. Bank Stadium as Matt Freese saved three spot-kicks in a 4-3 shootout win after a 2-2 draw.
Costa Rica had to come from behind to force penalties on Sunday, but then struggled to find a way past Freese, as the USA reached the last four for the 13th straight Gold Cup.
Max Arfsten clumsily brought down Kenneth Vargas in the box, and Francisco Calvo picked out the bottom-right corner from 12 yards, though Freese got a touch, just 12 minutes in.
The USA slowly built their way into the match, and Tillman won them a penalty of their own when he was caught by Juan Vargas just after the half-hour mark, though he stepped up and struck the foot of the left post.
Arfsten atoned for his earlier error by picking out Diego Luna for the equalizer, and he got a stroke of luck as his effort deflected past the diving Keylor Navas in the 43rd minute.
Two minutes after the break, Arfsten then put them in front, meeting Tillman's lay-off first time as he hit a low effort into the bottom-right corner, before hitting the crossbar less than 10 minutes later.
Alonso Martinez pulled Costa Rica level 71 minutes in, stretching to guide a half-volley over the defender on the line. Tillman then sent an effort sailing over the bar before Martinez struck the frame of the goal, leaving Freese stranded.
Freese then denied Juan Vargas and Francisco Calvo in the shootout, which went to sudden death, in which he kept out Andy Rojas, allowing Damion Downs to send the USA into the semi-finals.
The USA will next face Guatemala, who beat Canada on penalties in their quarter-final, on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: USA shot penalty prowess
This is the fifth time the USA have advanced in a penalty shoot-out in the Gold Cup, with only Panama (five) doing so as often.
And it means that they continued their streak of reaching the semi-final in each of the last 13 editions of the tournament, last failing to do so in 2000.
In fact, the USA have advanced in each of the previous 19 Gold Cup knockout matches in which they held the lead at any point, dating back to 2005.
While Freese will grab the headlines, they also have Arfsten to thank; he is the first USA player to register a goal and an assist in a Gold Cup knockout match since Clint Dempsey in the 2017 semi-final, also against Costa Rica.
