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The U.S. men’s national team is looking for tighter defense on set pieces after Colombia scored its first goal of Copa America on a corner in the first half of its 2-0 victory over the Americans on Friday night in California. Facing a must-win game against Costa Rica on Tuesday night at Soldier Field, the U.S. could make an early exit from the tournament with a similar lapse.
“Of course, it’s always bad to get (caught) on set pieces, but we get prepared now to do it better the next time,” defender John Brooks said Sunday before practice.
There was no score between the U.S. and Colombia when Cristian Zapata eluded defender Geoff Cameron and volleyed Edwin Cordona’s corner past goaltender Brad Guzan for a 1-0 lead. U.S. captain Michael Bradley was guarding Daniel Torres when Zapata looped around the pair to get open for his first goal in 42 international appearances.
Cameron said after the game that Mexican referee Roberto Garcia instructed him to put his hands down while guarding Zapata, but Cameron took responsibility for the play and said he could have done better.
Colombia added a second goal on James Rodriguez’s penalty kick after DeAndre Yedlin was whistled for a hand ball. That was more than enough to create a few anxious days for the Americans before their matchup with Costa Rica.
“Obviously we know we have stuff we need to fix,” Yedlin said. “But I think there are also a lot of positives in last game that we can even keep getting better. We just got to focus on the next game and take it step by step.”
Defense on set pieces likely will be a topic of conversation in the Americans’ preparation for their second Copa game. Forward Clint Dempsey said studying what happened can help on both sides of the field.
“On the corner kick, you can look at that, see how you can be tighter, how you can get around picks to make sure you don’t get blocked off,” he said. “How we can maybe do a little bit better job on our set pieces, so we look forward to the game.”
Costa Rica and Paraguay played a scoreless draw in their Group A opener on Saturday night in Florida. Costa Rica’s Kendall Waston received a red card in the 94th minute for a reckless tackle on Nelson Valdez, shelving the key defender for the game against the U.S.
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Johnston scored in the 27th minute and Morgan one-timed a nice pass from Crystal Dunn in the 62nd minute to pace the Americans, who tied Japan 3-3 earlier this week. The matches have been the first since the U.S. won last year’s World Cup with a 5-2 victory over Japan in the final.
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Marquez’s close-range shot in the 84th minute broke a 1-1 tie, and Herrera’s header from just outside the net added another score in injury time.
Mexico’s other score was an own-goal by Uruguay’s Alvaro Pereira four minutes into the match. Marquez’s score came 10 minutes after Diego Godin’s header tied it for Uruguay at 1-1.
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Martinez’s goal was set up by a Jamaican giveaway on a clearance attempt. Venezuela defender Rolf Feltscher intercepted and started a quick-hitting, four-pass combination that freed Martinez near the left corner of the 6-yard box.
Jamaica midfielder Rodolph Austin was sent off in the 23rd minute, receiving a straight red card for a studs-up tackle on Venezuela’s Tomas Rincon.
Michael Hector nearly tied it for Jamaica on a right-footed shot that hit the post in the 49th minute, and Blake had a diving save in the 70th minute to keep the deficit at one goal.