The second half witnessed a little improvement from Costa Rica but they seldom threatened Brad Guzan’s goal. The midfield was dominant, the strikers were clinical and the defence was calm.
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Adding to speculation about Klinsmann’s future, Gulati also said: “No one has ironclad job security”.
The first few minutes were shaky, with the Americans requiring some time to get their head in the game. DeAndre Yedlin’s poor clearance from the corner fell to Joel Campbell at the top of the box for a shot that streaked dangerously close.
The Americans benefited from their own early penalty against Costa Rica, and it had a similar effect. Clint Dempsey’s penalty kick gave the Americans the go-ahead 1-0 advantage.
If he was nervous about the consequences of a loss, Klinsmann didn’t show it, joking with the media ahead of the game.
Jones was named the man of the match as he won balls all over the field and ignited the US counterattack. The Americans could be facing a much more hard opponent if they make it out of the group.
It’s only been one week since the start of the historical 100-year anniversary of La Copa América, taking place right here in the United States for the first time ever.
Dempsey assisted five minutes later when he passed to Bobby Wood who beat his defender before blasting his goal past Pemberton. “They took us on the counterattack and scored 4 goals because of that”. Dempsey was off for Chris Wondolowski in the 78th minute and he received a standing ovation from the 39,000 strong crowd for his performance.
The USMNT will take on Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday night.
However, in the post-game press conference, Klinsmann indicated that the team had actually abandoned the three-front and went to a traditional 4-4-2 only 30 minutes into the contest.
In the 70′ minute, 28-year-old Victor Ayala scored Paraguay’s first goal of the tournament with a long distant strike to bring his side within one. They now find themselves third in the group with a slim chance of qualifying.
“With (Rodriguez) being such a great star with so much transcendence and desire, we had to be very prudent, but we never wrote him off”, Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said through a translator.
The United States opened the scoring in the 16 minute when Wood drew a foul in the box while leaping high for a header attempt on the back post.
Colombia became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of the Copa America 2016, beating Paraguay 2-0.
The Colombians did eventually double their lead via James.
And that’s exactly what he did, making an extra effort to get back to defend in addition to venturing forward.
Paraguay tested Colombia’s defense throughout an entertaining game, but La Albirroja don’t have a player with the skills of Rodriguez – or the reflexes of James’ brother-in-law, Ospina.
Not only did the USMNT not score goals, they looked completely disinterested and lackluster in the loss to Colombia last Friday, nearly as if they were just going through the motions.
Dempsey pocketed a low shot into the corner for his 50th career goal, seven behind US leader Landon Donovan.
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On critics who didn’t buy his assertion the usa played well in losing 2-0 to Colombia: “This was a very, very encouraging performance… but obviously the result was 2-nil”. Columbia now leads Group A with six points.
