SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- The United States is in danger of becoming the fourth team to start 0-2 in the final round of CONCACAFs World Cup qualifying since the hexagonal format was adopted ahead of the 1998 tournament.The Americans traveled to Central America on Sunday, two days after a 2-1 loss to Mexico in Columbus, Ohio -- the Americans first home loss in qualifying since 2001. They are 0-8-1 in qualifiers at Costa Rica -- losing their last eight in a row.Its just part of the qualifying process, the whole kind of long road obviously over 10 games, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said after Fridays match. And so its not a problem, but its obviously its disappointing.All three hosts lost Friday, the first time that happened in the hexagonal since Sept. 1, 2001, when the U.S. was defeated 3-2 by Honduras at Washingtons RFK Stadium. But there is plenty of time to rebound.The top three teams in the North and Central American and Caribbean finals advance to the 2018 tournament in Russia and the fourth-place nation meets Asias No. 5 finisher in a playoff for another berth.Canada (1997) and Trinidad and Tobago (2001) both started 0-2 and failed to qualify, but the Soca Warriors overcame losses to the U.S. and Guatemala in 2005 to finish fourth, then beat Bahrain in a playoff to reach the 2006 tournament in Germany.The U.S. Soccer Federation noted the average points needed to qualify from the hex has been 15.6, which means the U.S. would need four points on the road if form holds and it wins four remaining home matches. The U.S. earned six points on the road in the final round of qualifying for the 1998 tournament, five for 2002 and seven in each of the last three cycles.We have to look forward, pick ourselves up, forward Jozy Altidore said.The U.S. left behind goalkeeper Tim Howard, who departed the opener in the 40th minute after injuring the adductor muscle in his right leg. After a refueling stop in West Palm Beach, Florida, the team arrived at its hotel in San Jose at 7:30 p.m., following an afternoon storm.Costa Rica has become the perennial No. 3 team in the region behind Mexico and the U.S., and Los Ticos reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup before losing to the Netherlands on penalty kicks.In the Americans first qualifying match at Costa Rica, John Kerr scored in the 44th minute off Jeff Hookers cross after Mike Windischmann long pass down a flank, to gain a 1-1 draw on May 26, 1985, at Estadio Alejandro Moreira in Alajuela, about 13 miles from San Jose. Oscar Ramirez had put the hosts ahead about one minute earlier after Arnie Mausser misplayed a cross.The U.S. then lost seven consecutive qualifiers by a combined 16-5 at San Joses Estadio Saprissa, where fans were right behind the benches and some threw bags of urine at the visitors.The site shifted in 2013 to Estadio Nacional, which opened two years earlier and has an athletics track around the field. The result was similar, with the Americans giving up goals to Johnny Acosta and Celso Borges in the first nine minutes of a 3-1 loss that ended their team-record winning streak at 12 games, three shy of Spains world mark. American midfielder Michael Bradley, originally in the starting lineup, limped off the field during warmups after spraining his left ankle and was on crutches at the bench during the match.The message is very simple, Klinsmann said after the loss. Weve got to do down there and get a result, which we will do. Cheap Chicago Bears Jerseys China . 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Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Two teams dealing with off-the-field problems will square off on Sunday in a key battle in the NFC East.The Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) travel to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the New York Giants (4-3). Both squads will be looking to gain ground on the Dallas Cowboys (6-1) in the crowded East.The Eagles will be doing so without wide receiver/kick returner Josh Huff, who the team released Thusday after he was arrested on the Walt Whitman Bridge that connects South Philadelphia to New Jersey on Tuesday morning.According to the Delaware River Port Authority, Huff was stopped at approximately 11 a.m. heading to New Jersey for speeding. Huff had a gun, loaded magazine (which wasnt in the gun) and less than 50 grams of marijuana in his possession.He is also facing charges for DUI, speeding and, because the windows of his vehicle are tinted, obstructed view.Obviously Im disappointed, Eagles coach Doug Pederson told reporters on his weekly conference call Wednesday. Its not what you want on a players day off to see happen. He and I spoke about it privately.Its one of the things I talk about all the time with players. You just try to eliminate distractions and take care of your business outside of the building. He understands. Obviously, its out of our hands at this point. We just got to see where it goes.That incident follows a charge that linebacker Nigel Bradham had a loaded gun in his backpack at Miami International Airport during the Eagles bye week in October.The Eagles certainly would have benefitted from having the speedy Huff on the field. He possesses game-changing ability for an offense that lacks a big-play receiver. In last weeks overtime loss to Dallas, Huff reeled off a 53-yard kick return that set up an Eagles field goal. The return was the third in as many games of 50 yards or more for Philadelphia.Rookie quarterback Carson Wentz has completed 65.8 percent of his passes, but the majority of his passes are of the dink-and-dunk variety. He is only averaging 6.69 yards per pass, mostly due to poor pass protection. Wentz has been sacked 15 times.Defensive tackle Bennie Logan returned to the practice field in a limited capacity for the Eagles on Wednesday. Logan suffered a groin injury in the loss at Washington and has missed the past two contests. Fellow defensive tackle Taylor Hart was sidelined with an ankle injury.Pederson said guard Allen Barbre is week to week with a hamstring injury. Stefan Wisniewski will start at left guard if Barbre is unnable to play, according to Pederson.ddddddddddddThe Eagles have lost three games on the road and are still in search of a division win.I think the emphasis is greater, for sure, Pederson said about the clash with the Giants. Teams that want to make the postseason, obviously have to handle their division. Right now, weve put ourselves in a little bit of a hole.So, yeah, the importance of winning this game is probably a must for us in the division.The Giants, coming off their bye week, will unveil their new kicker, Robbie Gould, to the home fans for the first time. Gould replaces Josh Brown, who was cut by the Giants last week after police documents revealed admissions of repeated domestic abuse against his wife.Gould was successful in his only field-goal attempt in a 17-10 win over the Rams in London two weeks.Giants general manager Jerry Reese refused to discuss the Brown situation with reporters this week, saying, Im not going to talk about Josh Brown. I dont think it makes sense for people to keep talking about that right now. I wish healing for him and his family and everybody involved.The Giants have yet to establish a significant running game halfway through the season, and they will find it tough sledding against an Eagles defense that give up 114 yards on the ground per game.New York is last in the NFL in rushing, averaging just 70 yards a game. Rashad Jennings leads the group with 142 yards. Look for rookie Paul Perkins to share the workload.The Eagles defense is third in the league in sacks, those sacks having come from 12 different players, including defensive end Brandon Graham and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who share the team lead in sacks with 4.0 each.About one in three snaps they pressure, said Giants head coach Ben McAdoo of the Eagles. Theyre not a high-pressure team per se -- it depends on the situation. They do a nice job with their defensive line, creating the pressure, squeezing the edges and getting their front up the field. They rotate a lot of different guys that way.All 53 Giants players practiced this week. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (hip) was one of seven players who was listed as limited in practice. Beckham told Giants.com that he is about 85 percent recovered from the injury, which he incurred in Week 6 against the Ravens. Beckham admitted that he was only at 65 percent healthy in the victory over the Rams before the bye. ' ' '
