Copa America: Colombia cruise to 2-0 victory over USA

Colombia wrecked the United States' hopes of a winning start to the Copa America Centenario as goals from James Rodriguez and Cristian Zapata gave the South Americans a comfortable 2-0 victory here on Friday.

AC Milan's Zapata and Real Madrid star Rodriguez struck in the first half before a sell-out 67,439 crowd at the Levi's Stadium in northern California to puncture American hopes of emerging from a difficult Group A.

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann's side had hoped to score an upset victory to emulate the Americans' famous defeat of Colombia at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

But for long periods here Friday Klinsmann's men were chasing shadows as the skilful 2014 World Cup quarter-finalists delivered a stinging reality check.

A disastrous first half for the host nation saw Colombia take a vice-like grip on the contest.

The Colombians took the lead after only eight minutes, when poor marking at a set-piece gifted a chance to the Italy-based Zapata.

Stoke City defender Geoff Cameron was caught ball-watching as Edwin Cardona's corner was curled in, and Zapata stole in front of his man to thunder home the finish.

The USA struggled to build any sort of momentum after that, with Colombia flooding midfield and pressing the Americans relentlessly.

Colombia dominated territory and possession and carved out the better chances with Sebastian Perez forcing a diving save from Aston Villa's Brad Guzan in the 16th minute with a rasping drive.

Monterrey's Cardona proved to be a menace to the USA back four throughout, tormenting Cameron and DeAndre Yedlin in quick succession midway through the half before shooting on goal.

The only USA chance of note was a 36th-minute run and shot from Clint Dempsey, whose curling effort whistled just past Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina's upright.

But within minutes of that fleeting US opportunity, the hosts were dealt a killer blow when Yedlin was adjudged to have flicked a hand out to block Farid Diaz's cross.

America's players protested but Mexican referee Roberto Garcia was in no doubt and pointed to the spot. Rodriguez duly stepped up to stroke home the spot-kick and Colombia were in total control.

Colombia threatened again early in the first half, with Cardona testing Guzan once more with a fierce shot on 50 minutes.

It started to look ominous for the hosts soon after, with Colombia passing the ball between themselves to draw cheers of "Ole" from their large contingent of noisy fans.

But home hopes were raised when Dempsey saw his header from a Michael Bradley corner cleared off the line by Perez.

Dempsey went close again on 64 minutes, his curling free-kick parried clear by Ospina diving to his left.

Yet the American fightback was shortlived and it was Colombia who came closest to scoring next when AC Milan's Carlos Bacca broke clear and crashed a shot against the underside of the crossbar with Guzan beaten.

The introduction of rising teenage star Christian Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe was unable to turn the tide for Klinsmann's men as Colombia coasted home to victory.

The United States must now regroup in time for their second match against World Cup quarter-finalists Costa Rica on Tuesday. Colombia will play Paraguay in their next match.

That's what Jurgen seems to think ... apart from the two goals from Colombia. To be fair, Jurgen, that's quite a crucial difference there.  

Dempsey 'gave everything'. Sadly he didn't have a goal in his back pocket.

Don't think the fans are okay with things...

Fair to say much of the reaction out there in Twitter-land is aimed at Jurgen Klinsmann. 

 

Not much, it seems, according to Alexi Lalas. The former USA defender has give his verdict on tonight's defeat.

 

Colombia deserved the win, but the USA will likely rue the referee's decision to award a penalty in the first half. Wonder if Donald Trump will have anything to say about that, given the man in charge was Mexican Roberto Garcia. 

The hosts will now play Costa Rica on Tuesday, an will probably hope the opposition don't do as well as they did in the World Cup two years ago. 

Colombia, meanwhile, will take on Paraguay on Wednesday. 

 

So, not a good start from USA in this Copa America. Two first-half goals give Colombia a deserved 2-0 victory.

Cuadrado is brought down as Colombia launch a counterattack. He's certainly not in a hurry to get up from the ground... Cardona takes the free kick but it goes way over. More like a rugby kick for a conversion that one...

Colombia under a bit of pressure here and have everyone back for a corner. But the cross is poor.  And we're going to have 3 minutes of added time. 

Oooh. Bradley strikes a left-foot volley from outside the box, but Ospina watches it sail wide. 

Brooks comes off and Zusi take his place as Klinsmann tries one last throw of the dice. Will it make any difference? Probably not. 

Oh dear. Bedoya has time and space around the penalty spot. The ball floats down, he lines up a volley..and he miscues it awfully. Almost in row zee...

 

USA get a corner after Dempsey's left foot shot is deflected behind. Can they grab a goal back? Not for the moment as Colombia eventually manage to get it away. Time is running out for USA. Trump may declare war on Colombia after this. 

So close! Bacca is in acres of space after running on to a through ball. He chips it over the onrushing Guzan, only to see it smack the bar and away. Should have been 3-0. 

Cardona carries the ball into the box and sees his shot blocked by not one, but two USA defenders. The resulting corner is cleared easily, but Colombia have definitely regained control of the game after the little flurry of attacks from USA. 

Colombia are now making a change, with a slightly injured Rodriguez coming off as a precaution.  He's replaced by Guillermo Celis.

Christian Pulisik isn't the first American to be hailed as the next superstar of American soccerball. Remember Freddy Adu?

For those wondering, the 27-year-old is plying his trade for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League.

What a chance! Colombia almost make it 3-0 when Cuadrado slides the ball across from the right and Bacca's shot is diverted wide for a corner. Guzan gathers the subsequent cross.  

Klinsmann is hoping to capitalise on the momentum and is bringing on Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisik. Can the 17-year-old wunderkind Pulisik live up to the hype and save USA...No pressure then, lad. 

 

Dempsey lining up a free kick just from about 25 yards out...and oh so close! Ospina manages to get across to palm the ball away, good save from the Arsenal keeper there. 

Close for USA! Bradley swings in a corner from the right and Cameron's powerful header is cleared off the line and out for a corner. The next effort from Bradley is cleared this time by Colombia. Much better from USA and the fans are starting to make some noise. "USA... USA... USA!" 

It's all Colombia here. But there's still hope for USA.

 

Cuadrado hasn't exactly shined for Chelsea (like many) but he fared much better on loan at Juventus this season. With Conte coming in, expect to see much more of him in the Premier League next season. 

Cuadrado collects the ball in acres of space after the ball over the top, but the linesman raises his flag. 

Moments later, he's taken out by Brooks, and the Chelsea players is not happy. Brooks is lucky not to get a yellow there. 

Oooph! Cardona batters the ball from outside the area and Guzan can only parry it. But the Villa keeper gets up quick to collect it at the second attempt. 

The problem for Klinsmann is he lacks a bit of firepower upfront. I never thought I'd say this, but they seem to be missing Jozy Altidore. I know, crazy talk...

USA kick off the second half, no subs made yet. 

As the players go into the dressing room, Colombia are looking very comfortable here. Klinsmann will have to change something soon. 

It was a soft penalty, you can see why Klinsmann is shaking his head. The ball clipped DeAndre Yedlin's elbow but he certainly didn't know much about it. 

 USA 0-2 Colombia. James Rodriguez fires the penalty in the right hand corner, as Guzan goes the other way. 

Penalty for Colombia!

Jones floats a hopeful all forward to Zardes but the USA striker sees it drift out. 

It's all got a bit scrappy. Bacca tries to latch on to a ball forward but the Colombian forward sees it go way past. Dempsey then tries a shot outside the box, but sees it go comfortably wide. 

West Ham fans will be keeping an eye on Bacca - the Milan play is apparently a 'target' for the club. 

Another free kick for USA, and this time Fabian Johnson wants to have a go. Can he have better luck than Dempsey? Nope. It smacks the wall again. 

Again, the Americans seem able to knock it left to right and back again, but they're not showing much going forward. Bedoya springs an attack but the shot is quickly charged down.

Michael Bradley, the USA captain, floats a free kick into the box but Jermaine Jones' header goes wide. 

USA looking a little more comfortable on the ball now - at least when they're knocking from side to side. Colombia happy to watch. Probably because they're leading from this goal...

Ooph. Shot from distance from Perez and Guzan has to drop down smartly to gather it. 

Clint Dempsey sizes up a free kick from about 30 yards out ... but it smacks the wall.

 

So, not the best of starts for USA ... and to be honest you wouldn't be surprised if they added to their lead at this rate. 

Just 8 minutes gone and Cristian Zapata strokes home a corner from the right, easy as anything. Geoff Cameron, of Stoke fame, gave the corner away after a chipped ball through to Rodriguez. 

USA 0-1 Colombia (Cristian Zapata)

A pretty quiet start so far. Bobby  Wood scampers forward hoping to get onto a ball but it runs out. Wood then tumbles in the box, prompting a desperate plea for a penalty from the USA fans. Nae chance. 

And we're under way!

As the fans and players sing the anthems, here's a bit of entertainment from the stadium earlier for you...

Here's hoping James Rodriguez can replicate this kind of goal...

Here are the line ups for tonight.

Aston Villa's Brad Guzan is starting for USA, as is Clint Dempsey, formerly of Fulham, while Real Madrid star James Rodriguez will provide Colombia's main threat.

 

Here's one kid you should look out for, if he hasn't crossed your radar yet: Christian Pulisic. He'll probably start on the bench today, but this 17-year-old has been smashing records at his club Dortmund and for the USA - he became their youngest ever scorer recently. 

With the US hosting this Copa, a wave of World Cup '94 nostalgia is sweeping over me. Roger Miller. Ray Houghton's goal against Italy. Carlos Valderrama's hair. Team USA's atrocious denim-coloured kit. In fact, in one way this tournament is quite similar to that one: England aren't in it.

Seems USA's creative spark Alejandro Bedoya is reminiscing, too.

Well, that close season dragged a bit didn't it.  But finally, football is back after a long, agonising 24 hours since England demolished Portugal in a scintillating 1-0 win. USA are taking on Colombia in about 40 minutes - 2.30am in the UK - and we'll have all the action right here. Excited? Me too.  

Hang on - haven't we been here before?

Look. We know the normally quadrennial Copa America happened last year. You might still be mopping your fevered brow after the exhausting ordeal that was Chile's extra-time defeat of Argentina. But everyone's second-favourite continental football championship is back for a second consecutive summer because they're celebrating the competition's centenary - this special edition is called the Copa America Centenario.

How nice. So it's all in the name of tradition?

Well, yes, except for the glaring XXL-sized fact that it's being hosted by the USA. Sure, it'd take a loose definition of "South America" to include the States. But the Copa America always features guest stars - they even invited Japan last time - and holding it in the USA's backyard will make stacks and stacks of lovely cash.

Who cares? We get to watch Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez!

Mostly. Messi is in line to spend his third consecutive summer dragging Argentina to the final before they inevitably lose and he is forced to accept another unwanted Player of the Tournament bauble. Suárez will miss Uruguay's first game, against Mexico - not because of a biting suspension, but because of a hamstring injury - but should be back to play Venezuela. As Brazilian football's kingpin, though, Neymar's main job this summer is leading his team to Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro, so he'll be giving the Copa America a miss.

Whoever can fill his flashy boots?

How about another extravagantly-gifted young forward who's emerged from the Santos academy to the excitement of Europe's big guns? Gabriel Barbosa, 19, is as quick and skilful as his predecessor in the Santos number 10 shirt, and could be following him to Europe if he has a good tournament.

Look out for him - but don't rule out star turns from Colombia forward James Rodríguez, who has something to prove after a tricky season with Real Madrid, and, um, Jamaica's Wes Morgan, who has absolutely nothing to prove after captaining Leicester to Premier League glory. 

When does it all kick off, and which teams are playing?

The tournament opens with USA vs Colombia on Saturday June 4 at 02.30 UK time. This is the start of the group stage, which encompasses Group A (USA, Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay), Group B (Brazil, Ecuador, Haiti and Peru), Group C (Mexico, Uruguay, Jamaica, Venezuela) and Group D (Argentina, Chile, Panama and Bolivia).

Two teams proceed from each group, and the knockout stage culminates in the final, which will take place on June 26 at New Jersey's MetLife stadium.

And is it on telly?

Yes - the tournament will be broadcast in the UK by Premier Sports, who can be found on Sky Channel 428 and Virgin Media Channel 551. It'll cost you, though: £11.99 per month on Sky, and £9.99 per month through Virgin. Oh, and none of the games finish before 1am. Don't say we didn't warn you.