Copa America: Americans pleased with performance despite falling to Colombia

Copa America Centenario’s first game was a rude awakening for the US National Team, though Jurgen Klinsmann was satisfied with what he saw.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The US National Team opened Copa America Centenario with a 2-0 loss against Colombia at Levi’s Stadium on Friday night. Still, it was a “positive” experience for US head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Speaking during a press conference after the opening loss, the German manager seemed upbeat with an opening outing that fell short of expectations.

“I’m very pleased with the performance of the team,” Klinsmann said, adding that “[The media] put the benchmark on the results, but playing [Colombia], who they are and the quality they have, we were absolutely even.”

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Colombia scored in the eighth minute off a set piece after defender Cristian Zapata lost his marker inside the box and capitalized from short-range. The Colombians went on to control the pace of the game, frustrating the Klinsmann’s men in the final third and reducing them to two shots on goal.

Despite the result, however, the US coach and his players pointed to the positives, including dominating possession in the second half. US defender Geoff Cameron, who was responsible for losing Zapata for Colombia’s first goal, was as upbeat as his manager.

“I think we’re playing better soccer than what we have in a long time,” said Cameron. “I don’t think they [Colombia] were miles better than we were. They are beatable for sure.”

The defender took full responsibility for Colombia’s first goal, saying that it was a frustrating sequence as the referee was telling him to keep his hands off Zapata when the play occurred. Still, both Cameron and Klinsmann praised the team’s defensive efforts.

“Defensively I think we were great and we dealt with them well,” said Cameron, who considered that the game was frustrating because the Colombians “were there for the taking.”

“We didn’t give them any chances until the end,” argued Klinsmann. “It was an outstanding backline there.”

It’s a tough argument to make, however, as Colombia looked both calm and dangerous throughout the match, especially towards the end when Carlos Bacca hit the woodwork in the 77^th minute.

Still, Klinsmann insisted that what made the real difference was the penalty awarded to Colombia towards the end of the first half. DeAndre Yedlin handed the ball inside the box, allowing James Rodriguez to score his first goal of the tournament by sending Brad Guzan the wrong way with a low shot into the corner.

“It was a totally even game and obviously that penalty decision was a major point but it is what it is, you cannot change it anymore,” Klinsmann said. “We were absolutely okay with the team’s performance.”

After dropping the first game, the US is now forced to defeat Costa Rica on Tuesday. A loss would confirm what a lot of supporters saw: a team that struggles in attack and has plenty of fallacies in defense. Still, the American will look to remain upbeat and try to dig themselves out of the early hole they find themselves in.

Next: Copa America predictions

“I think the players take a lot out of this game,” Klinsmann said. “Obviously we’re [hungrier] towards the second game now.”