Normally, more would be expected from the United States national soccer team, playing at home against Costa Rica. A tie? Not enough.

The U.S. has not lost a World Cup qualifier, at home, to Costa Rica since 1985. (I remember that match because I was there … a game at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., back in the Dark Ages of U.S. soccer. All the Americans needed was a tie to advance to the final trio of Concacaf teams vying for a berth at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, but Costa Rica won 1-0, before a crowd that was almost entirely Costa Rica fans, and the U.S. was out. First World Cup qualifier I covered. Coach Alkis Panagoulias said, “I am now convinced that God is not an American.”)

But this tie, when the U.S. usually produces home victories over the Ticos, was different. For several reasons.

• Costa Rica needed a victory to wrap up the third of the three guaranteed World Cup berths for Concacaf. It was playing for its World Cup life.
• The U.S. didn’t need to win, having secured a place in South Africa 2010 by winning at Honduras on Saturday.
• And the Americans were dealing with the stunning absence of starting forward Charlie Davies, critically injured in a one-car crash early Tuesday morning — a crash that killed a woman in the car. Certainly, it had to be a distraction.

And it looked as if it would be Costa Rica’s night, for a long time … till the very, very end.

Bryan Ruiz, who plays for FC Twente in Holland and has five goals in nine matches this season, scored in the 21st and 24th minute, and Costa Rica was up 2-0.

The U.S. reacted with resolve, pushing the pace from the moment the second goal went in. But the Yanks had trouble finishing. (Pick a name, any name, and he probably had a good chance he didn’t put away.)

With 20 minutes to play it was still 2-0, and Costa Rica was heading for South Africa while Honduras — sitting fourth — was leading 1-0 at El Salvador but seemed destined for a home-and-home  playoff with Conmebol No. 5 Uruguay.

But that’s when things took a turn.

Robbie Rogers, one of three subs who brought great energy to the U.S., made a nice cross to Landon Donovan that Donovan threaded through a crowd to the goalie, Keilor Navas, who made a nice save. But the rebound went to midfielder Michael Bradley, whose sliding shot leaked into the goal, and it was 2-1.

It looked as if an hour of chasing the game would be for naught, in the 84th minute, when defender Oguchi Onyewu suffered an apparent knee injury whole trying to track down a floating corner from Francisco Torres. Clearly in pain, Onyewu called for help immediately and was taken off on a stretcher — leaving the Americans with 10 men, because coach Bob Bradley had already used all three of his substitutes.

Then the match got weird. The referee, Benito Archundia of Mexico, who seemed increasingly annoyed by Costa Rica’s stalling tactics, sent off the Ticos’ coach, Rene Simoes, for moving too slowly during a substitution.

Simoes reacted by going … oh … crazy. He had to be restrained by the Costa Rica bench from physically confronting the fourth referee, and eventually was escorted off the field by two D.C. police officers … soon to be followed off the field by his assistant.

Soon after, five full minutes were added to the end of the match — about as big a chunk of time as is ever handed out. And that was what killed Costa Rica.

With 30 seconds left, the Americans got another corner kick, and Donovan lofted a nice, soft ball into the middle of the box, and defender Jonathan Bornstein, unmarked, loped into the area and headed the ball squarely. It beat the goalie, but a defender got a foot on it, deflecting it slightly — but not enough to keep it from bouncing inside the near post.

The Americans celebrated as if they had just qualified for the World Cup.  Some Costa Rica players broke into tears. Moments later, it was over.

Why were the Yanks so excited?

• They badly wanted to win for Davies, a rising star whose career may be in danger.
• They badly wanted to mess with Costa Rica. The Ticos embarrassed the Americans, in San Jose back in June, in a 3-1 blowout. They knew that a tie would drop Costa Rica to fourth and send them off to a home-and-home playoff with Uruguay.
• And they badly wanted to finish first in Concacaf qualifying, which they managed with the tie, combined with Mexico’s surprising tie at Trinidad.

It was another entertaining, high-energy, high-drama match for the Yanks. Not as meaningful, and perhaps not as stunning as the 3-2 victory at Honduras last Saturday — the match that practically no one saw because it was on closed-circuit TV.

But this one seemed to come from the heart, and it seemed a bit sweeter, because of it.

The players circled the stadium, waving at fans, holding up a sign with the number “9” — Davies’ number — on it. Jozy Altidore pulled up his jersey to reveal Davies’s name on his undershirt.

It was a cathartic moment. The end of a grueling, 10-match Concacaf grind, one the U.S. finished on top of — coming one day after Charlie Davies almost died, at age 23.

Now, on to South Africa. As usual, it isn’t right to expect too much from the Yanks. They are a solid second-tier soccer power, but they are not of the class of the Cool Kids from Brazil, Italy, Spain, etc.

With a couple of breaks, they could survive the group phase. But if Onyewu is badly hurt (and early reports suggest it is a torn tendon in his left knee), along with Davies, that puts a damper on the World Cup effort even before it really begins. Two of the Best XI lost in a matter of two days.

Still, great night. Wonderful game. Genuine emotion. The beautiful game at its best.