Viewing parties will be held at six locations in the Southland for Tuesday’s telecasts of the U.S.-Costa Rica FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The game from Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica, will begin at 6 p.m. and be televised in English by cable’s beIN Sports and in Spanish by NBC Universo.
The viewing parties will be held at:
— Anna’s Pizza, 1240 Lakes Drive, West Covina;
— The Auld Dubliner, 2497 E Ave., Tustin;
— Q’s Billiard Club, 11835 Wilshire Blvd., Brentwood;
— 1739 Public House, 1739 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz.
— Shannon’s On Pine, 209 Pine Ave., Long Beach; and
— Underground Pub & Grill, 1332 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach.
The parties are organized by various chapters of American Outlaws, a nationwide support group for the U.S. men’s and women’s national soccer teams.
The U.S. will try to rebound from Friday’s 2-1 loss to Mexico in its opener in the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, end its long futility in World Cup qualifiers in Costa Rica and deal with the absence of its No. 1 goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Howard fractured his right adductor longus, located in the upper groin, while taking a routine goal kick in the first half of Friday’s game, forcing him to leave the game in the 40th minute with the U.S. trailing, 1-0.
Howard will undergo surgery Thursday in Los Angeles and is expected to be sidelined for four months, his club team, the Colorado Rapids, announced on Monday.
Brad Guzan will replace Howard against Costa Rica. Guzan is 8-2-0 with the national team this year, including a three-save, 4-0 victory over Costa Rica June 7 in a Copa America Centenario group play game.
The U.S. is 0-8-1 in World Cup qualifying games in Costa Rica, with the tie coming in the first game on May 26, 1985. The series is tied, 14-14-6.
Costa Rica opened the final round of World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago Friday.
Costa Rica, known as Los Ticos, has won five consecutive games, scoring at least three goals three times.
The U.S. is 24th in the rankings compiled by FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, and Costa Rica 18th, one spot behind Mexico.
The U.S. roster includes three players who played on the high school or club level in Los Angeles or Orange counties — Hamburg SV forward Bobby Wood (Irvine Strikers), Club Tijuana defender Michael Orozco (Irvine Strikers) and D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum (Northwood High).
Wood scored the U.S. goal against Mexico on Friday, his fourth with the national team this year. He also scored against Costa Rica in June.
Orozco entered the Mexico game in the 81st minute and the scored tied, 1- 1. Birnbaum did not play.
The U.S. team consists of nine players who play in Major League Soccer, seven in Germany, four in England, three in Mexico and one each in Liechtenstein and Norway.
Costa Rica’s roster consists of nine players who play in Costa Rica, four in Major League Soccer, three in Portugal, two in Spain, and one each in Brazil, Denmark, England, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey.
