The US national team and Colombia kicked off the Copa America Centenario on Friday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with Colombia winning 2-0 courtesy of two first-half goals.
Colombia got off to a fantastic start just eight minutes in, as Cristian Zapata found space in the box and slotted home Edwin Cardona's corner kick to make it 1-0.
A penalty was called for Colombia in the 40th minute, after a cross into the box struck DeAndre Yedlin's hand. James Rodriguez stepped up and converted the spot kick to double the lead.
The best chances for the US came just past the hour mark, as Clint Dempsey tested Colombia's defense in quick succession. First, his header off a corner kick was blocked on the goal line by Sebastian Perez, and then a free kick a few minutes later forced a save from Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina.
Box Score
- 8' - COL - Cristian Zapata (Edwin Cardona)
- 42' - COL - James Rodriguez (PK)
- Full box score
- Stats
Three Things
BAD START, BAD OMEN:
It turns out, history prevailed for the US against South American opposition, as conceding first is practically the kiss of death for the Americans over the last two decades (statistic does not include this result).
Next Up
- USA: Tuesday, June 7 vs. Costa Rica (8 pm ET, FS1, UniMás, UDN)
- COL: Tuesday, June 7 vs. Paraguay (10:30 pm ET, FS1, UniMás, UDN)