Klinsmann said he liked how fluid the switch in formations was and the flow of the US attack stayed the same.
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Colombia became the first side to reach the quarter-finals of the Copa America Centenario on Tuesday, while the United States thumped Costa Rica 4-0 to get their campaign back on track. They played Guzan in goal, followed by Yedlin, Cameron, Brooks, and Johnson in defense.
The U.S. took the lead early after a penalty in the ninth minute by Clint Dempsey, it was his 50th global goal, only the second U.S. player to reach the milestone.
“If you base everything just by result, then it was a negative start”, Klinsmann said.
Costa Rica and Colombia meet late Saturday night in the 2016 Copa America at NRG Stadium. The top two teams from the round robin advance to the tournament quarterfinals. We went through that game again.
The loss generated more criticism of the 51-year-old Klinsmann, who said last month that the Copa objective for the US was the semifinals. The attacking midfielder’s performance was all the more impressive when Colombia coach Jose Pekerman admitted that Rodriguez’s shoulder had been seriously injured during Colombia’s 2-0 win over the United States on Friday and that the player could even potentially require surgery to fix the issue.
Diaz believes the weather has not been considered in the scheduling of the Copa America after his side struggled in the conditions against Costa Rica.
Costa Rica drew against Paraguay 0-0 on Saturday in a slow match, but Costa Rica coach Oscar Ramirez is predicting a more open match tonight.
Klinsmann was surprisingly happy about the Americans’ effort in Friday’s 2-0 loss to Colombia in San Jose, praising the tactics while blaming the defeat on their set-piece defending.
The 33-year-old emerged as the catalyst of a devastating US attack, converting a ninth-minute penalty and setting up two more goals by Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood in a tournament-saving 4-0 victory over the rival Ticos at Soldier Field.
“It was important to get off to an early start”, said Dempsey, whose goal was the 50th of his USMNT career. “I think this is the most hard group”.
A loss to 23rd-ranked Costa Rica would have eliminated the USA team on the fifth day of the tournament.
The goal was Dempsey’s 50 in a USA uniform and his first Copa America tally.
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Not only did Jones score in the 37th minute to double the lead, he also was a menace for Costa Rica moving forward on the pitch, and was ultimately named Man of the Match.
