Costa Rica swept to the top of the Concacaf World Cup qualifying group with a 4-0 rout of the USA on Tuesday night. The hosts took the lead just before half-time before pulling away from a demoralized US late in the second half. By the time substitute Joel Campbell killed off the game with a late brace, Jürgen Klinsmann’s team already looked totally out of ideas. Now they have to contemplate a long winter rooted to the bottom of the group with no points and little faith in the coach.

Costa Rica 4-0 USA: World Cup qualifying – as it happened Read more

After the ill-fated experiment with 3-5-2 – or what Klinsmann insisted had actually been a 3-4-3 with Christian Pulisic in a roving role – against Mexico, the USA were back to a more familiar 4-4-2 against Costa Rica. Though other than Brad Guzan replacing Tim Howard after his season-ending injury in Columbus, it was the same line up that had spent the first half hour of the previous game chasing Mexican ghosts.

As for Costa Rica, the absence of a dedicated striker gave their starting line up something of the look of a 5-5-0, though when the game kicked off Johan Venegas was operating as something of a false nine, and something of a pest – fouling John Brooks early on and clearly relishing the ease with which he could get under Brooks’ skin as he set the tone for one of the key battles for the evening.

Brooks was on a yellow card coming into the game, and was always likely to be a significant figure on the night. Venegas clearly fancied the match-up of his nimbleness against a solid but not overly athletic defender, and he created the first chance of the game by slipping the ball between Brooks’ legs in the box, only to be put off his shot by an advancing Guzan and a late lunging tackle by Timothy Chandler. It wasn’t the last Brooks had seen of Venegas.

Costa Rica, as always, relied on patience and guile more than relentless pressure – probing for a lapse in concentration from a US defender, or a kind bounce off a heavy, unpredictable surface. In the early moments of an open game they had their chances – an improvised overhead kick from a seated Bryan Ruiz stood out – but were kept out by a solid if not exactly inspiring USA team.

That said, at first the visitors’ concentration seemed generally improved since Friday night, and the culprit on Mexico’s set-piece winner, Jozy Altidore, made early amends by being first to react to a couple of tricky Costa Rica set pieces with crucial interceptions, even if he wasn’t quite playing himself into the game at the other end.

As for the looks the USA were getting, Christian Pulisic was demonstrating the poise he’s being celebrated for as the latest great US soccer hope – putting his foot on the ball in tight spots or taking an extra touch to find the right angle for a dangerous ball across the box. But for the first half at least, these touches were pretty rather than truly threatening, as the US struggled to transition into any dangerous positions to give him options to pick out.

Still, given their 0-8-2 all-time record in Costa Rica, and the fact that they were 2-0 down within minutes in the corresponding game in 2014 World Cup qualifying, the US would have been happy to go in to the half at 0-0. And when Bobby Wood dropped his shoulder and drove the ball between Navas and the near post in the 41st minute, some greater boldness from Altidore or Pulisic would have seen them tapping in to the net from inches out.

As it was, it was Costa Rica who made the breakthrough.Randall Azofeifa seized on a Jermaine Jones error and switched the point of attack with a raking ball from the center line to wide left. As Christian Bolanos gave chase, Omar Gonzalez ambled across from his central position to follow the ball out, only for the ball to hold up on the surface, and for Bolanos to scoop it back into the space Gonzalez had vacated. There was Venegas, easily evading a desperate Brooks for a free glancing header across Guzan and into the net.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Timmy Chandler argues with the ref in San Jose. Photograph: Carlos Gonzalez/AFP/Getty Images

There was no immediate sign of the US chasing the game in the second half. Jones and Bradley were anchoring the center of midfield but hardly providing a ready conduit to connect to their attackers, while the occasional set piece chances they earned for Michael Bradley were ending disappointingly. You had to wonder what Sacha Kljestan thought of the general dearth of attacking imagination as he watched from the bench.

By the time we ticked past the hour the game was drifting out of the USA’s reach without sign of an intervention from Klinsmann. In fact the first change came from Costa Rica in the 66th minute, when Joel Campbell replaced the injured Venegas.

If the US hoped that marked the end of Costa Rica’s offensive threat they were about to be rudely surprised. Two minutes later, Bryan Ruiz popped up on the right hand side to curl a beautiful outswinging cross with the outside of his left boot. Bolanos ran to meet it ahead of a lagging Chandler, and his header was too much for Guzan to keep out.

Belatedly, Klinsmann made his move, with the hard-running Lynden Gooch replacing Pulisic. But in the 74th minute, with most observers still scratching their heads trying to work out the net gain in that move, the US fell further behind. A shocking first touch by Brooks, whose night was rapidly falling apart, allowed Campbell the simplest of clear run-ins on goal to finish low into the corner.

Forget changing the losing record, now the aim was damage control for the USA, but they remained their own worst enemies – four minutes after Brooks’ error it was Chandler’s turn again, as his telegraphed pass was intercepted by Ronald Matarrita and scooped over the top of a static US backline. There was a grateful Campbell again – pulling the ball down and putting the ball neatly into the same corner Guzan had just retrieved it from.

A rout, then, and the worst qualifying loss since 1957 for the US. The Hex tends to be forgiving of even the worst starts and the US will still feel they should qualify having played two of the three toughest games in their schedule of 10, but after opening their campaign with two losses they face several months stewing on this result until the campaign resumes in March, while Costa Rica, fresh off a surprise win in Trinidad on Friday, will be delighted to find themselves six points and ten goals clear of one of the traditional powerhouses of this round of qualifying.

Nothing powerful about this US team on current evidence, and despite the unquestioning mandate Klinsmann enjoys from US Soccer head Sunil Gulati, the increasingly dissatisfied fanbase will have seen nothing to suggest that the team is on target for the 2018 World Cup. By the time the US plays competitively again that tournament will be vividly clear on the horizon, but there’s nothing clear about where Klinsmann’s going to find inspiration from.

Costa Rica: Navas; Matarrita, Umaña, Acosta, Waston, Salvatierra; Bolaños, Azofeifa (Tejeda 70), Borges, Ruiz, Venegas (Campbell 67)

USA: Guzan; Besler, Brooks, González, Chandler; Pulisic (Gooch 70), Bradley, Jones (Kljestan 71), Johnson (Zusi 77); Altidore, Wood

Goals: Venegas 44, Bolaños 68, Campbell 74, 78