MONTERREY, Mexico – The first semifinal of the 2022 Concacaf W Championship will bring together the current World Champions, the United States, and a team on the rise, Costa Rica, on Thursday night at the Estadio Universitario in Monterrey for a spot in the Final.
The U.S. arrives to this Semifinal match having secured their first win over Mexico on Mexican soil on Monday night in a 1-0 final to finish atop the table in Group A. Wins against Haiti and Jamaica in their first two games helped them qualify for the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand.
The U.S posted some amazing stats during the group stage. GK Casey Murphy had two clean sheets, showing that the strength of the U.S. is not only on the offensive side. However, this team is known for their names who have made their attack impressive, like Ashley Hatch, who was the player with the most shots that hit the post (2).
Costa Rica come into this semifinal after securing their World Cup ticket winning against Panama and Trinidad & Tobago. Las Ticas’ loss against Canada for first place of Group B did not stop the team from demonstrating the skills that they have. La Sele have scored seven CWC goals, with three assists from three different players, Cristin Granados, Melissa Herrera and Priscila Chinchilla.
GK Daniela Solera shares the tournament lead for most clean sheets with two and has only two goals conceded. Led by Head Coach Amelia Valverde, Costa Rica is ready to take to the pitch again and are on their way to play their second World Cup, after not attending France 2019.
These teams are no strangers to playing in the CWC. The U.S. leads the all-time series with a 5W-0D-0L record. The last time they faced each other was in 2014 and it will be the second time that they have faced each other in a CWC Semifinal. That last time, in 2002, the U.S came out victorious, 7-0.
Aiming to be CWC-Final bound, both teams will take the field knowing CWC glory is at stake, giving everything they’ve shown so far and ready to go that extra mile in the final stages of the tournament in Monterrey.
Match Officials
Referee: Astrid Gramajo (GUA)
AR1: Karen Diaz (MEX)
AR2: Ivett Santiago (CUB)
4th Official: Odette Hamilton (JAM)
Game Notes, Stats USA vs Costa Rica in CWC
