OK, we’ll wrap this blog up now. Thanks for reading. Goodnight.
USA went close three times – Dempsey twice, and Cameron – but they didn’t really slice Colombia open. Zardes and Wood ran hard, but toiled, and Bradley didn’t have his best game. Pulisic and Nagbe did OK – at least one of them might come in for the Costa Rica game.
Well done to Colombia. They were the better team, and they deserved to win, but they never truly scaled the heights. Zapata and Murillo were largely solid, Ospina did well, but Cuadrado and Bacca showed only glimpses, and James hobbled off with what looked like a nasty shoulder injury. They’re capable of much better, which in a sense, is good news for them: what damage can they do when they’re in top form?!
Hm. That was a disappointment. USA played OK in patches, but Colombia looked comfortable, even though they didn’t play that well. USA weren’t terrible, but in the end they were well beaten, which is a worry for the coach. It’s not over, by any means, and a win against Costa Rica would make everyone feel much better, but it’s tough to win the group now, and a second-place makes their path to the later stages much more difficult.
Full-time: USA 0-2 Colombia
That’s it! USA open their Copa America campaign with a defeat!
90 min + 3: Final minute for USA. They look forlorn. Bradley tries to lob it into the box, but it’s overhit, and out for a goal kick.
90 min +2: Great tackle on Nagbe, and Colombia break, and it’s a four on three! Yedlin and Zusi combine to stop the attack illegally, and Colombia are in no hurry to take the kick. Cardona takes it, eventually, and it’s miles over.
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90 min +1: Zusi’s first ball is headed clear, and the second one is, too. Arias puts it out for a throw. Three minutes of stoppage time.
90 min: Zardes tries to go past Murillo on the edge of the box, and that looked like a foul! Not given. Now Yedlin takes over, and forces a corner.
89 min: Cardona from distance! Guzan saves comfortably.
88 min: Final change for Colombia, and Dayro Moreno replaces Carlos Bacca.
87 min: Bradley’s ball in … and Ospina punches clear! Good goalkeeping to deny Cameron, I think it was. Bradley goes for goal after it’s pumped back in by Yedlin, but it’s wide.
86 min: Nagbe drives forward and is clipped about 30 yards from goal, left side. Another good area for USA.
85 min: Cameron misplaces a pass for Yedlin, and it’s a Colombia throw. Zusi replaces Bedoya in Klinsmann’s final change. And Sanchez is on for Perez for Colombia. David Lengel asks a pertinent question:
How do you spin this? @timmyhilleh
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) June 4, 2016
83 min: The home fans are becalmed. Time’s running out, and Colombia do look dangerous on the break.
82 min: Colombia have shown some signs of weakness in defence, but USA haven’t got into the box enough. Zusi preparing to come on for the hosts.
81 min: Good, positive running from Pulisic out left, but Arias and Torres double up to dispossess him. Now a chance for Bedoya … but he gets it wrong! Decent chance: it popped up for him on the volley, on the edge of the box, but can’t make it count. High and wide.
80 min: Ten minutes for USA to salvage something, and they’re taking chances at the back. Bacca streaked clear just then as Brooks and Cameron tried to play offside, and he had a free run at goal. He should have scored.
79 min: And now Dempsey at the other end! He walloped a shot from 18 yards after good work from Bedoya, and it’s deflected wide. Bradley’s corner is headed away, but USA have it … until they lose it.
77 min: Bacca hits the crossbar! So close to three! Perfect run from the striker, in between the centre backs, and Guzan stayed home, but Bacca’s shot smacked back off the woodwork. Unlucky, but it probably should have been game over.
76 min: Corner for Colombia, but it might have been more had Cardona not taken an extra touch when well placed. He breezed past Yedlin and should have shot, but took too long, and USA managed to get back to concede the corner. Zapata was almost in again at the back post from the set piece, but USA clear.
74 min: The momentum has just slightly ebbed from USA’s play, and Dempsey has a mild meltdown after he’s whistled for a foul.
72 min: James can’t continue, and he’s replaced by Guillermo Celis, the young midfielder from Junior.
71 min: James is back on, but he doesn’t look comfortable. Bradley’s raking pass releases Bedoya, who takes it down with perfect control, and his ball for Dempsey is good, but his shot isn’t. Goal kick.
70 min: James is still clutching his shoulder. Colombia playing with 10 men for now.
69 min: James is off the field, receiving treatment. Cardona’s ball in, and it loops up, where Guzan can claim easily. James looks like he’s got a problem with his shoulder. Eek. It looked like he landed awkwardly.
68 min: Colombia seem discomfited when USA attack with verve. But here’s a chance for Colombia on the break, and Cuadrado is free on the right, and Bacca … fires it wide of the post! Actually, it was deflected. Great defending by Yedlin! Corner to Colombia.
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67 min: So the two young bucks are in. They’ve got 25 minutes to make an impact. And USA have certainly raised it these past few minutes or so. Cameron and Dempsey denied by Perez, off the line, and Ospina, with a fabulous save.
65 min: Double change for USA: Nagbe and Pulisic on for Wood and Jones.
64 min: That’s an excellent save from Ospina. Super hit from Dempsey: he really nailed it from about 25 yards, and he found the corner – but Ospina came up big.
63 min: Dempsey with it … and Ospina saves! Bent round the wall, with pace, but Ospina read it, and beat it away with two hands!
62 min: Better from USA these past few minutes. And another trip on Dempsey – Murillo again – and another free kick in a shooting position.
61 min: Colombia shuffle it clear from Bradley’s cross, and now Colombia can break. Cardona is the meat in a Jones-Brooks sandwich, and it’s a free kick.
60 min: This time it’s cleared, and all the way back to Guzan. But that was a super effort from Cameron: he really attacked it, and Ospina looked beaten. Back into the final third, and another free kick in a good position.
59 min: Zardes forces a corner. Bradley takes, Cameron wins it … and it’s off the line! Perez with the vital touch. Another corner.
58 min: Bacca attempts an overhead in the box, but it’s sub-par, and USA clear.
57 min: Bedoya is late on Murillo, and is booked. “Here’s Johnathan in Chicago: I’m guessing Colombia keep attacking Johnson’s side because they recognize him as one of the few US players who can be dangerous going forward, so better to keep him pinned back. Meanwhile America’s two most exciting players sit on the bench.”
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56 min: The Colombian fans are already crying “Olé” as they keep the ball in the back. This is much better from them; I thought they were mediocre in the first half, despite the 2-0 lead.
55 min: Momentary angry dispute involving Brooks, Cuadrado and the linesman on the far side. Brooks looks seriously pissed about something. Did Cuadrado dive? Nagbe and Pulisic warming up now for the hosts.
54 min: Cuadrado offside! He ran through the middle to collect James’s through ball, and was just off. A minute earlier, Bacca was marginally offside too. USA living dangerously with this high line if they don’t put pressure on the ball.
52 min: Nerves from Guzan! Cardona smacked one fro 30 yards, Guzan spilled it, and Cameron prevented Bacca from gobbling up the rebound! Great hit from Cardona: he hit it so purely. Guzan couldn’t hold it.
51 min: This has been an excellent start to the second half from Colombia. They look assured on the ball; USA haven’t been able to get hold of it.
50 min: Colombia have attacked three times already on their right flank. Are they looking to isolate Johnson one-on-one against Cuadrado?
49 min: Despite the two goals, it’s been a game of few chances. Dempsey went closest for USA, but not a great deal of work to do for either keeper.
47 min: Arias looks to escape on the right side, but Johnson does well to get back, dispossess him, and win the free kick.
We're back!
46 min: USA get us going, and they’re on the front foot already. Cameron’s ball for Bobby Wood is overhit, though.
Teams are out for the second half. No changes from USA.
Here’s Barney Horner: “It’s a shame about the marshmallow soft penalty, but that was a really good tactical first half. Dempsey dropping deep, Zardes and Wood coming inside, with Yedlin and Johnson playing really high up the pitch; and seeing how Colombia dealt with that by employing a kind of zonal/man marking hybrid to close up the spaces, and lots of tactical fouls about 35-40 yards out (mostly on Dempsey, who found pockets between the lines).
“And Colombia keeping that defensive line really high and away from goal, which is why the US so rarely got as far as their penalty box.
“Would have been interesting to see how tiredness and the heat distorted those tactics in the second half but now Klinsmann et al might have too much to do.”
Alexi Lalas on Fox is in no doubt on the penalty call. “It’s a handball; it’s a foul; it’s a penalty.”
Dr Joe Machnik, Fox’s refereeing expert, agrees. “He’s blocked the path of the ball, and that’s the right call.” Looking at the replay, Yedlin turned his back, put his hands up, and the ball hit his hand pretty much flush. It’s difficult to argue with the call, on second look.
Half-time: USA 0-2 Colombia
That’s the half, and USA have serious work to do.
45 min +1: One minute of stoppage time. USA don’t deserve to be two down here. Final chance to sling it in from a free kick, but Bradley’s ball in is terrible, and it’s straight out for a goal kick.
45 min: Before the game, the Fox pundits suggested Colombia might have a problem defending set pieces. And now USA have gone and given up two goals from them. The irony!
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43 min: I’d love to see the penalty decision again on replay. Yedlin’s arms were probably in an unnatural position, and he undoubtedly handled it as he attempted to stop Diaz’s cross, but it looked harsh. Such a difficult one to call.
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42 min: Well, what a penalty. He just laced it into the corner; Guzan dived the wrong way. And USA are in a hole. Klinsmann looks gutted.
GOAL! USA 0-2 Colombia (James Rodriguez pen 41)
Emphatic. Two-nil Colombia!
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Penalty to Colombia!
For handball! Yedlin! Oh, that looked soft. What a decision!
39 min: USA’s response to the concession has been excellent. Colombia haven’t done much at all.
37 min: Ooh, Dempsey! Dempsey got free in a pocket of space, 30 yards out, and hit a floater with his left foot, which Ospina stood and watched! It went just wide, but Ospina looked like he was beaten. He never moved. Inches past the post! Unlucky Dempsey.
35 min: Quick feet from Bacca, but his pass for the forward-rushing James is overhit, and it’s through to Guzan.
33 min: Colombia are in no rush – and why would they be? All the onus is on USA, who, to their credit, have attacked with plenty of vim since the goal.
31 min: Not really seen much from Bacca or Cuadrado. James has been more prominent, though.
30 min: Diaz made a great run round the back on the left side, but Zardes did very well to track back and stop him. Lovely pass from James, too. Throw for Colombia by the corner flag.
29 min: Johnson with it. Into the wall. Grr!
28 min: Wood fouled by Murillo, 25 yards or so out. Good chance, this. USA cranking it up.
27 min: Best move of the game from USA, but Bradley’s shot is blocked. Yedlin got wide, crossed to the back post, Johnson kept it alive, but Colombia got men back to stop the shot.
Rob Richardson emails: “Taking punts on what minute Trump will tweet out the Mexican referee is biased.
“Watching from Brooklyn. Colombian set piece was quite impressive; however, the Americans love playing from one down for some bizarre, inexplicable reason.”
25 min: I think it’s fair to say that Colombia haven’t found their passing rhythm. USA asking most of the questions at the moment.
24 min: Dempsey is tripped by Perez, but no card. He’s living dangerously, though, the Colombia player – that’s about four late tackles. Free kick for USA 40 yards from goal, and Bradley looks for Jones, who heads wide from a difficult angle.
22 min: Lovely skill from Cardona, but his shot is blocked. And again! He really outmaneuvered Yedlin just then, but Guzan saved his second attempt. Nice feet from the Monterrey attacker.
21 min: Nice burst from Zardes in the middle, and he feeds Wood wide left, who, inexplicably, is offside. That was promising from the hosts – but what a dumb mistake to be flagged.
19 min: USA have pushed up to the halfway line. Johnson is extremely high on this left side, too. But Colombia are quick to get men behind the ball.
Here’s JR in Illinois: “I quite enjoyed that Dempsey homage to Cristiano Ronaldo on that free kick. He really nailed it, from the arrogant “look at how manly I am” stance before the kick to brainlessly smashing the ball right into the wall. Fantastic.”
17 min: USA have been OK, actually: they’ve shown some spunk and vibrancy, but they’ve made one mistake, and they’re one down. The marking had to be tighter on that corner kick; Zapata got free far too easily.
15 min: Better from USA, and Bradley makes a thrusting forward fun, but Colombia clear, and then smoothly ease forward. Sebastian Perez tries one from range, but it’s straight at Guzan. Decent effort, but too straight.
13 min: Dempsey shoots … and it’s into the wall. Disappointing.
12 min: Better possession here from USA. But they mustn’t go chasing it; Colombia will pick them off on the break. Jones is fouled, centrally, and this is a shooting chance for USA.
11 min: That really was a top finish from Zapata: such a lovely connection. He hit it so cleanly that Guzan had no time to react.
10 min: USA try to respond with Dempsey, but his overhead kick is medicore. Then Colombia break, and Guzan absolutely hares out of his goal when he should have stayed put! Bacca was nearly in, but luckily for Guzan, Cameron did enough to bail him out. Nervy moments from the Villa keeper.
9 min: Well, that’s a superb finish, and what a start for Colombia! Cardona swept it in, Zapata got free, and absolutely buried one past Guzan from 15 yards on the volley! The marking, however, was slack: Zapata got free. A delicious finish, but Klinsmann must be furious.
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GOAL! USA 0-1 Colombia (Zapata 8)
From the corner, Colombia lead!
7 min: Ooh, good defending from Cameron to stop Bacca. Cuadrado clipped one forward, and Bacca ran in behind, but Cameron stopped him. Corner.
6 min: Brooks is fortunate that James fouled him – he’d headed into danger, but saw James coming, and encouraged the clip, which duly followed.
5 min: Cameron stops James in the area, cleanly, and releases Zardes as USA look to break, but his ball is just behind Bobby Wood, and Colombia clear. Good forward thrust from the hosts.
3 min: Colombia happy to keep possession and play slowly in their own half. Dempsey called for a clip on Torres, and Colombia with a free kick in the centre circle.
2 min: A cautious start, but Colombia with the territorial advantage. Half the pitch is in the shade.
And we're off!
1 min: And the Copa America Centenario is under way! Colombia get us going. They’re in navy shirts, navy shorts and yellow socks. USA all in white with blue trim.
And now a flyover! Two US military jet fighters. We’re a minute away, and the 60,000 fans in Levi’s Stadium are making a racket.
Now the Star-Spangled Banner. Sung with gusto.
And now the anthems! Colombia first.
The teams are on the pitch. Much shaking hands with various Conmebol and Concacaf officials.
It’s about 92F in Santa Clara. That’s seriously warm. Klinsmann is in his characteristic sports casual gear. Is his inoffensive polo shirts/tan chinos combo a problem? Aaron Timms thinks so:
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We’re just over 10 minutes away from kick off. I imagine we’ll get going at about 9.35pm ET.
That was excellent! The accompanying on-field choreography – dancers standing underneath individual markers that, in ensemble, represented each competing country’s flag – was underwhelming to my stern critic’s eye, but that was Derulo at his effervescent best. Four stars!
And now tonight’s big draw: Jason Derulo! Mohawk hair, sculpted beard … and he’s already into Want to Want Me. The sound of the spring!
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Great! Now it’s J Balvin, of Colombian reggaeton fame. He’s wearing some box-fresh Adidas Superstar hi-tops.
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Now it’s time for the opening ceremony. Canadian reggae fusion songsters Magic! are first up. Lead singer Nasri is wearing white jeans.
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A short video announcement from Vice-President Biden, and some pointed criticism at Donald Trump?
“I want to welcome everyone to the US as we proudly host the Copa America. Supporting a thriving Americas has been an objective for me and President Obama: educating young people, creating jobs, protecting human rights and promoting culture and the arts.
“That’s something we can always celebrate in a nation where everyone – everyone – is always welcome.”
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A reminder: this is a 16-team tournament, and two go through from the group stages, in conventional style. One slightly interesting nugget is that there is no extra-time in the quarter-finals or semi-finals: matches level after 90 minutes go straight to penalties.
Group A: Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, USA
Group B: Brazil, Ecuador, Haiti, Peru
Group C: Jamaica, Uruguay, Mexico, Venezuela
Group D: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Panama
USA are in decent form coming into this match – they’ve won their last four, and seem to have solved some tactical issues – but this is a test against a good team, and they need not to lose. Predictions? I think Colombia might sneak a 2-1. But remember: when it comes to making bets on football matches, I am a cretin.
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Some reading for today: this Q&A in the Wall Street Journal with Jürgen Klinsmann, which was notable for some criticisms of players for not working hard enough. Some selected quotes:
“A lot of our younger players struggle to understand that it takes a lot more work and determination and aggressiveness to really make it to become a consistent, driven professional.”
“You have to become proactive if you want to go to the highest level, if you want to play in World Cups. I’m not saying it has to be that way to play in the domestic league. Being reactive might work and you can play in the first division in whatever country and you are OK. You get a good paycheck and it’s all right, but that is why you are just a division one player. That is why you are not a national team player. If you are a national team player, and it’s our job to make them believe they can make it to the national team one day, you have to take matters into your own hands.”
Alexi Lalas on Fox isn’t impressed with the finger-pointing. “He [Klinsmann] rarely takes responsibility, if ever.”
Klinsmann speaks! “It’s a difficult start, but that’s what we want. Our guys are ready. We’ve prepared well for this tournament and we want to match ourselves with the best in South America. The players can’t wait to get on the field.
“To be part of a Copa America is something very special. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and we want them to take advantage of that.”
Weather report: it’s warm. Really warm – up into the 90s. Not an evening for pressing!
So USA line up, largely, as we’d expected: 4-3-3, with Brooks and Cameron in central defence, and Jermaine Jones and Alejandro Bedoya either side of Michael Bradley. Christian Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe could make an impression from the bench.
Colombia look like 4-2-3-1, and there’s quality in abundance: watch out for James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado, Edwin Cardona roving between the lines, and Carlos Bacca, who could be on his way to West Ham, is a striker of rare quality. They’re a highly impressive side, ranked No3 in the world, and their record under Pekerman is seriously good: 30 wins from 48 games – a win percentage of 62.5 in one of the world’s classiest confederations.
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Tonight's starting line-ups
USA: Guzan, Yedlin, Johnson, Cameron, Brooks, Jones, Bradley, Bedoya, Dempsey, Wood, Zardes. Subs: Howard, Horvath, Birnbaum, Besler, Nagbe, Orozco, Beckerman, Kitchen, Pulisic, Wondolowski, Zusi, Castillo.
Colombia: Ospina, Arias, C Zapata, Murillo, Diaz, Perez, Torres, Cuadrado, James, Cardona, Bacca. Subs: Mina, Celis, Sanchez, Martinez, R Zapata, Medina, Aguilar, D Moreno, Fabra, Roa, M Moreno, Bonilla.
Ref: Roberto Garcia (Mexico)
Hello and welcome
It’s finally here. Enough of the phony war – this is the Copa América Centenario, and it’s for real. Tonight, USA and Colombia kick off a special edition of this grand old tournament in Santa Clara, California, the first of what we hope – expect? – are three weeks of high-class games to relish, revel and rejoice in. The best players in the Americas – Messi! Aguero! James! Alexis! – are here in the US to celebrate 100 years of South American football, and we’re excited.
Kick off at Levi’s Stadium is 9.30pm ET, 6.30pm local time. It’s lit!
Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Graham Parker on what USA need to do:
The tempting answer is to see if the tournament draw can be arranged so that the US play Bolivia in every one of the group games. One of the weakest sides in South America represented either the best opposition for the final warm-up game, in terms of sending the US into the tournament on a high, or the worst, in terms of giving the hosts an inflated sense of just how nicely they’re rounding into form.
And Jürgen Klinsmann being Jürgen Klinsmann, it’s not as if we’ve seen a stable line-up refine the kinks of playing together in the three-game span. He’s experimented to the last, and there’s a fair chance that all we’ve seen of his first choice XI was the few minutes at the start of the second half against Bolivia, between Fabian Johnson and DeAndre Yedlin coming on at half-time and Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic coming in 15 minutes later. More of that latter duo in a minute, but the main point is this: the USA are coming into the tournament on a steep learning curve, so how well Klinsmann has explained the tournament strategy and how well the players both buy into it and can adapt to it will be key to success.
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