Agence France-Presse
Santa Clara (United States), June 4: The goals from Cristian Zapata and James Rodriguez propped Colombia to a scintillating 2-0 win over United States here.
AC Milan’s Zapata and Real Madrid starlet Rodriguez struck in the first half before a sell-out 67,439 crowd at the Levi’s Stadium in northern California to shatter American hopes of emerging from a difficult Group A.
US coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s side had hoped to score an upset victory to emulate the Americans’ famous defeat of Colombia at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. But for long periods, Klinsmann’s men were chasing shadows as the skilful 2014 World Cup quarterfinalists delivered a stinging reality check.
A disastrous first half for the hosts saw Colombia take a vice-like grip on the contest. The Colombians took the lead after only eight minutes, when poor marking at a set-piece delivered a chance to Zapata. US defender Geoff Cameron was caught ball-watching as Edwin Cardona’s corner was curled in, and Zapata stole in front of his man to thunder home the finish.
The hosts struggled to build any sort of momentum after that, with Colombia flooding midfield and pressing the Americans relentlessly. Colombia dominated territory and possession and carved out the better chances with Sebastian Perez forcing a diving save from Brad Guzan in the 16th minute with a rasping drive.
The only USA chance went begging was a 36th-minute run and shot from Clint Dempsey, whose curling effort whistled just past Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina’s upright.
But within minutes of that fleeting US opportunity, the hosts were dealt a killer blow when Yedlin was adjudged to have flicked a hand out to block Farid Diaz’s cross. Mexican referee Roberto Garcia was in no doubt and pointed to the spot, despite the protests from the hosts. Rodriguez duly stepped up to stroke home the spot-kick and Colombia were in total control.
It started to look ominous for the hosts soon after, with Colombia passing the ball between themselves to draw cheers of “Ole” from their large contingent of noisy fans.
In the closing minutes, AC?Milan striker Carlos Bacca also got a chance to make the score 3-0 but failed to capitalise on it.
