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Americans rally to tie Costa Rica
Washington — Jonathan Bornstein headed in a corner kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time, giving the United States a 2-2 tie against Costa Rica on Wednesday night that put Honduras in next year's World Cup. Bryan Ruiz scored twice in a four minute-span midway through the first half to give Costa Rica a 2-0 lead, but Michael Bradley cut the U.S. deficit in the 72nd minute. With the United States playing a man short after defender Oguchi Onyewu tore a tendon in his left knee and Costa Rica just 20 seconds or so from qualifying, Bornstein headed in a corner kick from second-half substitute Robbie Rogers from about 7 yards. At the end, U.S. players held up a banner with the number "9" of teammate Charlie Davies, who was seriously injured in a car crash Tuesday and is unlikely to play in next year's World Cup. Davies was also remembered by the American fans in the lower bowl of RFK, who held up white cards with Davies' jersey number — during the ninth minute of the game. Onyewu fell down on the slick turf and was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon. Because the United States had used its three substitutes, he couldn't be replaced. The United States (6-2-2), which clinched a berth last weekend, topped North and Central America and the Caribbean for the second consecutive qualifying cycle by finishing one point ahead of Mexico (6-3-1), which tied 2-2 at last-place Trinidad and Tobago. Honduras (5-4-1) won 1-0 at El Salvador and qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1982, finishing ahead of Costa Rica (5-4-1) on goal difference, plus-2 to even.
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