Costa Rica carves up U.S. in World Cup qualifying

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Alvaro Saborio scored 79 seconds in, the second-fastest goal against the United States in a World Cup qualifier, and Costa Rica coasted to a 3-1 victory Wednesday night.

Celso Borges added a goal in the 13th minute, and Pablo Herrera sealed the victory for 41st-ranked Costa Rica when he made it 3-0 in the 69th.

Landon Donovan scored the U.S. goal when he converted a penalty kick in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.

The Ticos shredded the defense of the region's top-ranked team on the artificial turf of Saprissa Stadium, and the United States stumbled for the second straight time in Central America.

It was a tough start to a difficult three-match stretch of qualifying for the No. 14 Americans, who dropped to 0-7-1 in qualifying at Costa Rica, including 0-7 at San Jose, where they've been outscored 16-5. Donovan's goal was the first for the Americans in Costa Rica since Earnie Stewart's in 2000.

The Americans now come home to Chicago, where on Saturday they'll host Honduras, the last team to beat them in a qualifier on U.S. soil. The United States is 15-0-1 at home since the 3-2 defeat at Washington's RFK Stadium in September 2001. Then, on Aug. 12, the Americans play at Mexico, where they are 0-22-1.

The U.S. will be missing midfielder Michael Bradley on Saturday after he picked up a yellow card in the 54th minute, earning a one-game suspension.

Still, the United States remains in good position to qualify for its sixth straight World Cup as long as it wins its remaining home matches, which include games against El Salvador (Sept. 5 at Sandy, Utah) and Costa Rica (Oct. 14 at Washington).

Costa Rica (3-1) leapfrogged into first place in the six-team regional finals of North and Central America and the Caribbean with nine points, two ahead of the United States (2-1-1).

Honduras (1-1-1) has four points, followed by Mexico (1-2) with three, and El Salvador (0-1-2) and Trinidad and Tobago (0-1-2) with two points each. The top three nations qualify for next year's World Cup in South Africa, and the No. 4 team meets the fifth-place team from South America in a playoff for another berth.