Landon Donovan and the United States punched their ticket to Brazil with a win over Mexico in Columbus. (Wikimedia Commons)

The gamesmanship started as soon as the U.S. Men's National Team landed, two full days before scheduled kickoff time in San Jose. Following their arrival in Costa Rica, the team had eggs thrown at their bus, weren't allowed a private entrance to the team hotel, and were denied match balls for training by the Costa Rican Federation. 

Many commentators took the events as an opportunity to highlight how these minor inconveniences and frustrations would serve to fire up the team, giving them even more motivation to go out and beat the 'Ticos in their own house.

Not like the Americans should have needed more motivation, with an abysmal record at Costa Rica over recent years and a certain amount of bitterness still very present between the teams following the key U.S. win over the Central American country in the March 'snow game' in Colorado. 

In addition, the Americans were on their best run of form in recent history and came into the game with a clear desire to win and an even clearer goal: to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil this summer. As a result of all these factors, things looked primed for the United States to finally assert themselves in front of a very hostile crowd in the new Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica. 

On Friday, however, Jurgen Klinsmann's gameplan began to quickly unravel when Michael Bradley went down during warmups with an apparent ankle sprain. Losing Bradley, the linchpin of the American team, even more so than Dempsey or Altidore, was exactly what the USMNT needed to avoid. 

Now, instead of having the Roma man anchoring his team in front of the back four with all the aplomb we have seen from him in recent games, Klinsmann was forced to replace him with Geoff Cameron. While Cameron is effective at several different positions, asking someone who expected to sit on the bench for the majority of the game to replace Bradley with only 15 minutes left till kickoff was a tall order. 

Unfortunately for the United States, not only does Cameron lack Bradley's range of passing, but he also cannot replicate his vision and innate playmaking ability. Despite all this, Klinsmann must have hoped that Cameron would be a capable stopgap when he placed him alongside Jermaine Jones at the heart of the team's 4-2-3-1. 

SEE MORE: USMNT's Impressive Summer And Costa Rican Revenge

Sadly, not only did Cameron struggle to replace the on-form Bradley, the entire American starting eleven struggled to string simple passes together. Following about 15 minutes of shoddy American defending and lackluster pressing, Costa Rica was up 2-0. 

The United States managed to claw a goal back thanks to a Clint Dempsey penalty that Fabian Johnson managed to win after completely miscontrolling a great Zusi through-ball in the box, but the Americans never really looked threatening. In the dying stages, Klinsmann threw on Alitdore and Eddie Johnson in the hopes of turning the game around, but it wasn't to be, as the Americans fell to Costa Rica 3-1 in San Jose.

What mattered after the game was getting back to the United States, dealing with the suspensions of Matt Besler, Altidore, Cameron and the likely absence through injury of Bradley. The Americans had lost, yes, but a win against the Mexicans on Tuesday would still give them enough points to all but guarantee World Cup qualification. 

Luckily for the Americans, the Mexicans were in turmoil, having just fired their manager Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre after an astonishing 2-1 loss at the intimidating Azteca in Mexico City to Honduras. Entering the match on Tuesday evening, the Mexicans sat a dismal fourth in the CONCACAF hexagonal, frustrated and in desperate need of a win. 

Combine an angry El Tri with a motivated and dangerous American side, and everything looked set for a classic showdown in Columbus, and that is certainly what we got. 

Immediately following kickoff on Tuesday evening, it became clear that both sides were feeling the weight of expectation, as a nervy start led to a few sloppy giveaways by the Americans and some scuffed half-chances by the Mexicans.  

As the game wore on, both sides exchanged good chances, as Tim Howard and Mexican keeper Jose Corona made equally impressive saves to keep the game tied at zero. However, once the second half began, the U.S. players slowly began to assert themselves, as they have so many times on American soil over this World Cup qualification cycle. 

Four minutes into the second period, Eddie Johnson powerfully headed in a Landon Donovan corner kick and the Americans never looked back. The U.S. began to pass more confidently, create more space and maintain more possession. 

Going into the Tuesday tilt, one of the biggest concerns was the absence of Bradley. His ability to calm an occasionally jittery American side cannot be overstated, but tonight his presence was not missed all that much, especially once the second half got underway and the red, white and blue calmed their own nerves. 

Although the Americans held a 1-0 lead and most of the ball, El Tri continued to threaten and worry stars and stripes supporters around the country. The chance of a Mexican comeback was put to bed in the 78th minute, however, as a wonderful bit of skill from substitute Mix Diskerud followed by a cross which flashed across the six yard box was turned in by Donovan at the far post. It was fitting that Donovan's sixth career goal against Mexico successfully punched the USMNT's ticket to Brazil.

Looking back, the international break was a successful one for the team and all American soccer fans. Come June, no one will remember that the Americans lost to Costa Rica, only that they booked their tickets to South America in style, at home against a desperate Mexican side. Qualifying this early is important, because it will allow Jurgen Klinsmann to use the following qualifiers as tune-ups ahead of the World Cup kicking off this summer. 

Certainly, it remains to be seen how the USMNT will perform in Brazil, but assuming Klinsmann has an injury free squad, making it to the knockout round is the least that should be acceptable for American fans. Though one thing is clear: this World Cup will be the most eagerly anticipated, as well as the most widely followed in American soccer history. 

Reach Staff Writer Christopher Coppock here and follow him on Twitter here.