USA midfielder Landon Donovan believes Costa Rica's performance in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Tuesday was a little odd.
The Ticos were extremely defensive and cautious in their 1-0 loss to the US, in a game they had to win, and Donovan admits he was puzzled by the way they came out in the final Group C fixture.
"It's like Groundhog Day with these teams. They all just want to play defense for 90 minutes," said Donovan who provided the assist for Brek Shea's 82nd minute winner.
"Costa Rica is a lot better at it than (other group opponents) Belize or Cuba are. It was a little peculiar considering they had to win the game to win the group.
"It was strange that they wanted to play that way, but I think it showed how they feel about us. In the end, it was nice to win the game. It would have been pretty unjust had we only tied the game."
Donovan and the US side are now preparing for their quarter-final clash with El Salvador in Baltimore on Sunday.
