USMNT FALLS 5-1 TO COLOMBIA IN COPA AMERICA PREPARATION FRIENDLY
The U.S. Men’s National team fell 5-1 to Colombia in an international friendly in preparation for the 2024 Copa America. The attendance mark of 55,494 was the second-highest attendance ranking for a U.S. Soccer-controlled USMNT match in Washington, DC.
In the first of two warm-up games the USA will play before hosting the 48th edition of the Copa América, Colombia’s opportunism in front of goal and ruthlessness in punishing U.S. miscues made the difference on a warm afternoon at Commanders Field in Landover, Md.
The showdown between the sides ranked 11th (USA) and 12th (Colombia) by FIFA was played at a brisk pace before 55,494 fans and featured scoring chances at both ends. The visitors were more efficient early and a potential U.S. comeback – sparked by a 58th-minute goal from Tim Weah that halved the deficit – was snuffed out by a late Colombian onslaught.
Fluminense’s Jhon Arias, who won the Bronze Ball at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup, and Rafael Santos Borré of Brazil’s SC Internacional tallied for Colombia in the opening 20 minutes. Los Cafeteros’ strong start was fitting, because it entered the match on a roll. They haven’t lost since February 2022 and are now unbeaten in 22 consecutive outings (17-0-5), 19 of those coming under the guidance of Argentine manager Néstor Lorenzo. Colombia also holds an advantage over the USMNT, going 6-0-2 since last losing to the Americans back in 2005.
The opening minutes in Landover, located a few miles east of the nation’s capital, set the tone. U.S. striker Folarin Balogun had a look just a few seconds after the opening whistle but sent an 18-yard effort over the crossbar. Five minutes later, Arias made no mistake on a rocket of a shot from close range.
In the ninth minute, Balogun ran onto a perfect long ball from U.S. left back Antonee Robinson and beat goalkeeper Camilo Vargas. But a Colombian defender was there to clear the ball off the line. Ten minutes later, the visitors were up by a pair thanks to Borré’s acrobatic bicycle kick. In the 32nd, U.S. captain Christian Pulisic saw his sharp, near-post header parried away by Vargas.
The balance of play was relatively even, but Colombia’s penalty-area prowess separated the sides at intermission. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter swapped World Cup goal scorers as the second half started, sending Haji Wright on for Pulisic. And the Coventry City man made an immediate impact, just missing a promising 50th-minute header and then testing the Colombian rearguard off a pass from Gio Reyna a few moments later.
Just before the hour mark, the U.S. was back in it. Reyna and Wright were involved in the buildup but Weah did the lion’s share of the work, finding Balogun on the right and then running hard to meet the return pass for a well-placed finish. It was Weah’s sixth USMNT goal and his first since netting in a friendly win over Uzbekistan in September 2023.
But the hosts’ resurgence was short lived. Multiple second-half substitutions on both sides impacted on-field chemistry. U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner kept his team in it with a beautiful diving save of a 64th-minute shot from Colombia captain James Rodríguez. The dam then burst in the 77th, as the U.S., which was hoping to establish some rhythm in search of an equalizer, was punished three times in quick succession after losing the ball in its own half.
Three goals in 11 minutes from Richard Ríos (Palmeiras), Jorge Carrascal (Dynamo Moscow) and Luis Sinisterra (Bournemouth) produced the final margin.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
COLOMBIA — Jhon Arias, 6th minute: Colombia established possession on the U.S. left and the ball made its way to veteran playmaker James Rodríguez, who slid a pass into the penalty area. Antonee Robinson lunged and got a foot to it, but Arias beat two U.S. defenders to the loose ball and blasted a short-range shot just inside the near post. USA 0, COL 1
COLOMBIA — Rafael Santos Borré (Jefferson Lerma), 19th minute: A short corner played into to the U.S. penalty area was met by center back Tim Ream, but Colombia’s Lerma won the second ball and nodded it toward the left post. Borré was there and bounced an acrobatic, six-yard bicycle kick past goalkeeper Matt Turner. USA 0, COL 2
USA — Tim Weah (Folarin Balogun), 58th minute: A good spell of possession and some exquisite side-to-side buildup led to Weah’s sixth U.S. goal. Gio Reyna and Haji Wright helped draw Colombia’s defense toward the U.S. left before Weah whipped a pass toward Folarin Balogun in the right channel. Weah kept running, latched onto Balogun’s well-timed through ball and beat the charging Colombia goalkeeper to the far post. USA 1, COL 2
COLOMBIA — Richard Ríos (Luis Sinisterra), 77th minute: U.S. midfielder Johnny Cardoso was tackled in midfield. Ríos picked up the loose ball, fed Sinisterra on the right wing and ran toward the penalty area. Sinisterra dribbled toward the endline, held off Yunus Musah and cut a smart cross back toward the penalty spot. Ríos was there, and his shot deflected off Cameron Carter-Vickers and bounced in. USA 1, COL 3
COLOMBIA — Jorge Carrascal (Juan Fernando Quintero): 85th minute: Tim Weah was caught on the dribble by Carascal and the ball bounced to Quintero, who had room to advance as the U.S. pushed forward. Quintero slid the ball back to Carrascal on the left, and he had plenty of time to pick his spot behind Turner. USA 1, COL 4
COLOMBIA — Luis Sinisterra (Juan Fernando Quintero): 88th minute: Colombia’s Jhon Lucumí intercepted a Cameron Carter-Vickers pass in midfield and the ball was in the U.S. net seconds later. Lucumí quickly fed Quintero, who slid an angled pass through to Sinisterra, who beat Turner to the right post. The three Colombian players took a combined five touches. USA 1, COL 5
Today’s Starting XI had an average age of 25 years, 237 days, making it the ninth-oldest lineup deployed under Gregg Berhalter and third oldest since 2021.
Tim Weah scored the sixth international His last goal for the U.S. came on Sept. 9, 2023, the first in a 3-0 friendly win over Uzbekistan.
Folarin Balogun assisted on Weah’s second half finish, earning his third career USMNT assist.
Christian Pulisic captained the team for the 22nd time tonight. The USA is 16-3-3 when Pulisic wears the armband. He also earned his squad-leading 67th cap, tying him with 1994 FIFA World Cup alum Mike Sorber for 37th on the USMNT’s all-time caps list.
Antonee Robinson started his fifth-consecutive USMNT match today, while Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah started their third consecutive matches of 2024.
Tonight’s match marked the first time the back four of Joe Scally, Chris Richards, Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson started together. It was also the fourth time and second consecutive match that Richards and Ream paired in central defense.
Tim Ream has now earned 11 of his 57 caps after his 35th birthday, ranking him third most among USMNT field players after turning 35. He comes in behind Fernando Clavijo (41 of 61 caps) and Thomas Dooley (24 of 81 caps).
In making his 40th career appearance tonight, goalkeeper Matt Turner has earned starts in 25 of the last 27 USMNT matches for which he has been available in a run that dates back to Sept. 23, 2022 vs. Japan in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Midfielder Johnny Cardoso earned his third career start tonight and first since the 4-0 win against Ghana on Oct. 17, 2023 in Nashville.
Defender Cameron Carter-Vickers made his 17th appearance for the USMNT today as a second half substitution, and his first appearance for the team in 2024.
Midfielder Luca de la Torre also made his first USMNT appearance of 2024 today, coming on as a second half substitution to earn his 21st career cap for the U.S.
Five USMNT starters made their first appearances against South American opposition: Folarin Balogun, Johnny Cardoso, Gio Reyna, Chris Richards and Matt Turner.
Forward Josh Sargent (foot injury) was the only U.S. player not dressed tonight.
Gregg Berhalter is now 43-15-12 in 70 matches as USMNT head coach. The USA is 1-2-3 in five matches against South American opposition under Berhalter.
Today’s attendance of 55,494 ranks third all-time for matches played in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia (DMV) area, and second all-time for U.S. Soccer-controlled USMNT matches in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia (DMV) area.
Following today’s result, the USMNT is 3-14-5 all-time against Colombia, with the team’s last win coming in a 3-0 victory on March 9, 2005 in Fullerton, Calif. The team’s eight-match winless streak against Los Cafeteros is currently the second longest of any opponent after Brazil (11 matches).
–U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT–
Match: United States Men’s National Team vs. Colombia
Date: June 8, 2024
Competition: Friendly
Venue: Commanders Field; Landover, Md.
Attendance: 55,494
Kickoff: 5:37 p.m. ET
Weather: 84 degrees; sunny
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 1 1
COL 2 3 5
COL – John Arias 6th minute
COL – Rafael Borré 19
USA – Tim Weah (Folarin Balogun) 58
COL – Richard Rios (Luis Sinisterra) 77
COL – Jorge Carrascal (Juan Quintero) 85
COL – Luis Sinisterra (Juan Quintero) 88
Lineups:
USA: 1-Matt Turner; 3-Chris Richards, 5-Antonee Robinson, 7-Gio Reyna (17-Malik Tillman, 63’), 8-Weston McKennie (6-Yunus Musah, 71’), 10-Christian Pulisic (Capt.) (19-Haji Wright, 45’), 13-Tim Ream (2-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 62’), 15-Johnny Cardoso (14-Luca de la Torre, 83’), 20-Folarin Balogun (9-Ricardo Pepi, 72’), 21-Tim Weah, 22-Joe Scally
Substitutes: 18-Ethan Horvath, 25-Sean Johnson, 4-Tyler Adams, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 12-Miles Robinson, 16-Shaq Moore, 23-Kristoffer Lund, 24-Mark McKenzie, 26-Timmy Tillman
Head coach: Gregg Berhalter
COL: 12-Camilo Vargas; 23-Davinson Sánchez, 3-Jhon Lucumi, 17-Johan Mojica, 21-Daniel Muñoz; 16-Jefferson Lerma (5-Kevin Castaño, 83’), 15-Mateus Uribe (6-Richard Rios, 45’); 10-James Rodríguez (20-Juan Quintero, 71’), 7-Luis Díaz (18-Luis Sinisterra, 71’), 11-Jhon Arias (8-Jorge Carrascal, 62’); 19-Rafael Borré (14-Jhon Durán, 62’)
Substitutes not used: 22-Yaser Asprilla, 25-Álvaro Montero, 13-Yerry Mina, 1-David Ospina, 27-Deiver Machado, 4-Santiago Arias, 9-Miguel Borja, 2-Carlos Cuesta, 24-Jhon Córdoba
Head coach: Néstor Gabriel Lorenzo
Stats Summary: USA / COL
Shots: 10 / 15
Shots on Goal: 2 / 6
Saves: 1 / 0
Corner Kicks: 2 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 16
Offside: 2 / 2
USA – Matt Turner (Caution) 69th minute
Officials:
Referee: Fernando Hernández Gómez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Michel Morales Morales (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Karen Diaz Medina (MEX)
4th Official: Adonai Escobedo (MEX)
