Passing a Major Test of Adversity: Takeaways From USMNT's Gold Cup Victory vs. Costa Rica | OneFootball

After a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, the U.S. men's national team are through to the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals after defeating Costa Rica.

The USMNT trailed on the day early after Max Arfsten conceded a penalty in the first half. The Columbus Crew defender righted his wrong at first by assisting Diego Luna for the equalizer before halftime. Then, straight from the restart, he scored his first senior international goal. Costa Rica pushed on and equalized in the 71st minute as New York City FC player Alonso Martinez beat his MLS teammate, Matt Freese.

With no extra time on the day, fans in the stadium hoped their team wouldn't suffer the same fate Canada did earlier in the day. After three major saves from Freese, despite a miss from Sebastian Berhalter and a saved attempt from John Tolkin, Damion Downs scored the decisive penalty to push the USMNT into the next round.

A major victory for Mauricio Pochettino's men as they chase silverware this summer. As well, a big test passed given the adversity this squad faced after trailing for the first time this tournament.

Takeaways from the game below.

Diego Luna's Cult Hero Story Builds

Earlier last week, Tim Howard told Sports Illustrated that Diego Luna is going to become a cult hero for the USMNT. After impressing in January camp, Luna had pressure on his shoulders to perform once again given the amount of talent absent this summer. His first international goal for the USMNT couldn't have come at a better time. It took a massive deflection, but he won't care. Not to mention, it raised the spirits of Max Arfsten who conceded the penalty to Costa Rica earlier in the game.

Luna's off the ball movement in the box was great, losing his marker as Arfsten picked him out. A perfect moment to reinvigorate Pochettino's team.

Max Arfsten Shows His Resilience

Luna wasn't the only one to score his first international goal on the day. Arfsten put the Stars and Stripes back in front right from the restart thanks to a brilliant team move. The Columbus Crew defender has been filling in for Antonee Robinson this summer. Normally a wing back, Arfsten's been asked to play as more of a traditional full back, but his offensive skillset allows Pochettino to still push him further up the pitch.

Many players, especially young ones with a limited amount of senior experience with a national team, could've let their head drop after conceding a penalty. Arfsten pushed on, assisted the equalizer and then scored the go-ahead goal at the time. A massive turnaround in the face of resilience as Pochettino relies on young defenders this summer on the flanks.

Does the USMNT Have a New Starting Goalkeeper?

Freese stepped up in a major way on the day in the penalty shootout. He made three saves and it could've been more after diving the right way a couple more times.

Matt Turner, after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, was expected to be the number one moving forward. But, limited playing time at the club level and mistakes with the national team after pushed Pochettino to make a change this summer. Perhaps just to see what else he has in his squad, but it's going to be hard to unseat Freese moving forward after the Costa Rica game. There's limited time between now and the World Cup next year on home soil, but Matt Freese just took a major step toward starting on the biggest stage in international soccer.