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After last night's 2-0 win for Colombia, the USA were left hoping for a favorable result between the other two Group A combatants, Costa Rica and Paraguay. That's exactly what they received as the two teams played to a lackluster 0-0 draw.
More importantly for the U.S. is that one of Costa Rica's most important players, center back Kendall Waston, was sent off in the 90th minute for a his second bookable offense when he broke up a dangerous counter-attack at midfield. He will now be suspended for the two team's group stage match-up on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, FS1).
It was a letdown to lose the first group match in an international tournament, but the 0-0 draw for the other two teams was the best they could've possibly hoped for. The path to the quarterfinals becomes just a little bit easier now for Jurgen Klinsmann's side. They now have a good chance against a short-handed Costa Rican side to pick up their first three points of the tournament on Tuesday.