Colombia booked a quarterfinal spot in the competition following their 2-1 win over Paraguay at the Pasadena Rose Bowl Stadium on Tuesday night. He also linked up with Jermaine Jones in the 37th minute for a goal and then connected with Bobby Wood for another goal in the 42nd minute.
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“They played well, but I think we played a good match”, James said.
Our hope was obviously to build a more fluid style by keeping the guys connected together, same starting 11, which that luxury we never really get in World Cup qualifiers or other times of the year. Now, with a win Saturday, the US team would advance. If United States draws, Costa Rica must beat Colombia by at least six goals.
The second goal came 18 minutes later when Edwin Cardona managed to knock the ball into the path of Rodriguez, who fired past Villar with a first-time effort, notching his 16th global goal.
Colombia became the first side to reach the quarterfinals of the Copa America Centenario on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila), while the United States thumped Costa Rica 4-0 to get their campaign back on track.
The United States started the scoring in the contest just nine minutes in when Clint Dempsey drove a penalty kick past Costa Rican goaltender Patrick Pemberton, good for Dempsey’s 50th worldwide goal.
Colombia bossed the opening exchanges and Rodriguez went close before they took a 12th-minute lead.
The win came as a welcome relief for USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann, whose tenure has faced mounting criticism over the past 18 months after a series of disappointing performances in competitive matches.
Their match against Paraguay to round out their group stage games will be critical to figuring out who ends up advancing to the knockout round. “You want them to go in with a big chest and take the game to Paraguay and show them we are able to play these games”.
Turning point: A 1-0 lead is very unsafe in soccer, and while 2-0 brings a feeling of security, it still feels vulnerable in such an important match like this one.
The same players who had disappointed against Colombia last Friday delivered in Chicago. The Paraguayans did not sit back and instead attacked Colombia’s defense with reckless abandon for the second 45 minutes, which made for an entertaining game.
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But Klinsmann, whose position could be in jeopardy if the United States make an early exit from the tournament, said there was no chance of his team playing for a draw. After such a beating and advancement extremely slim, you have to question just how motivated Costa Rica will be for this match.
