Goals: USA—Altidore (penalty) 10’; Colombia—Bacca 60’ - Gutierrez 87’
Recap: Ninety minutes of inspired of football saw Colombia capture a 2-1 victory over the United States on Friday.
An early handball from Pablo Armero gifted the United States a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. Poor judgement from the assistant official, however, failed to award a foul on Armero, leading to the infraction. Jozy Altidore converted the penalty nonetheless. Carlos Bacca found an equalizer for Colombia in the second half. Taking advantage of the decision to not blow Teofilo Gutierrez offside, the 28-year-old calmly found the back of the net.
Gutierrez provided the match-winner via a glancing header in the dying minutes of the match.
Key Moment: The missed foul committed by Rubio Rubin wasn’t the lone mistake made by the official in the first half. Jermaine Jones, in an attempt to block Gutierrez’s shot, did so with his hand. The infraction, worthy of a yellow, was overlooked.
Man of the Match: James Rodriguez lacked the sharpness synonymous with this game in the final third, but still proved to be influential. The Real Madrid star finished with an assist and four fouls drawn.
Lesson Learned: The U.S. men’s national team remains married to the same principles that have defined them: Hard work, gritty defending and set-pieces. Outside of a gifted penalty to rest their laurels on, the Yanks had little to offer in the central part of the pitch. Careless turnover after careless turnover wasn’t punished by a wasteful Colombian side, but it remains a cause for concern. Results are irrelevant during international friendlies, but quality of play isn’t. On Friday, the United States failed to provide any quality.
Up Next: Colombia travel to Slovenia on Nov. 18, while the United States visit the Republic of Ireland on the same date.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via ESPNFC).
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