Copa America Centenario: Los Cafeteros off to perfect start

Rodriguez, Zapata on target as Colombia overpower hosts USA 2-0 in opening match

SANTA CLARA: 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 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, Klinsmann’s men were chasing shadows as the skilful 2014 World Cup quarter-finalists delivered a stinging reality check.

Klinsmann sought to put a positive spin on the game, insisting his team had competed as equals.

“For our players it’s really important that they can see we can beat them,” said Klinsmann. “The end result is 2-0. But the players will take a lot out of this game.”



Klinsmann, however, admitted the defeat left his team with little margin for error in their remaining group games against Costa Rica and Paraguay. “Obviously we have even more hunger in our second game now,” he said. “We have our backs against the wall and we need three points against Costa Rica. But there are a lot of positives.”

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

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



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.

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.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2016.

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