Keylor Navas couldn't score the goals for Costa Rica on Friday night, so the goalkeeper needed to find a different way to contribute to his team's World Cup Qualifying contest against the United States in New Jersey. He made several incredible saves, denying the Americans time after time in what turned out to be a 2-0 shutout in favor of his team. Because of Navas, Costa Rica now has the inside track at qualifying for the main tournament in 2018.

Navas gets first billing

The goalkeeper - who plays for Real Madrid when he isn't moonlighting for Costa Rica - needed to have a strong game against a United States team that has been on fire since Bruce Arena took charge earlier in the qualifying stage.

He didn't need to do a great deal in the first half to keep the opponent at bay, as Navas didn't face many serious shots. It was the second half where he did his best work on this night.

First, there was the 66th minute. After Clint Dempsey failed to connect on a free kick, young star Christian Pulisic managed to get off a low shot. An awkward deflection off a Costa Rica player forced Navas to make an even more awkward adjustment on the ground, sprawling his body to make the stop. In the 81st minute, it looked as if Jozy Altidore was going to tie up the game.

Navas came up big once again, however, snuffing out Altidore from close range and starting a sequence of events that would seal the game for his nation.

Costa Rica has another hero

While Navas was taking care of business on his end of the pitch, Marco Urena was scoring off the miscues of American defenders. In the 29th minute, he stole a pass from the United States, ran along the edge of the crease, then knocked a delicate shot past the diving Tim Howard to give Costa Rica a 1-0 lead.

In the 82nd minute, he did it again, getting well clear of his American defenders and easily pushing a ball past Howard to give Costa Rica a 2-0 lead, which would go on to be the winning score.

The loss to Costa Rica doesn't spell disaster for the United States, which should still have an inside track at a World Cup bid.

They won't be able to seize it this week anymore, though. They could also really use a win against Honduras later in the week. Losing on your home turf is never a positive experience in World Cup Qualifying; looking lethargic and allowing two opposing players to completely dominate will leave the Americans shaking their heads after a strong 14-game performance prior to Friday.
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