USA’s mental lapses in the first half put a damper on the hype surrounding the 2016 Copa America campaign. The largely pro-Colombian crowd witnessed the U.S. Men’s National Team shoot themselves in the foot twice in the first half. With the lack of focus in the crucial periods on display, questions must be raised about Jurgen Klinsmann once again.

USA’s Mental Lapses Lead To Defeat

Recap

Goal 1

An early corner kick and a back line that was caught ball watching made the perfect recipe for an early Colombia goal. Colombia set a pick play that allowed Cristian Zapata to get a free shot away at the edge of the six-yard box. Geoff Cameron was not marking him tight enough, and the rest of the back line didn’t communicate enough to rotate and cover Zapata. A well-crafted set piece ended up going against the USMNT this time around.

Goal 2

DeAndre Yedlin was correctly called for a handball in the box. While he was turning away, his hand was quite far out of what “normal” positioning would be. Ultimately, it was the correct call, though some may have thought otherwise. James Rodriguez stepped up to blast home the penalty kick into the bottom corner.

Top U.S. Performers

John Brooks: Brooks was the most calm, cool, and collected player for the USMNT and was far and away their best player on the night. He made perfectly timed tackles, won most of his arial battles, and completely shut down Carlos Bacca. There isn’t really find much fault in him on the opening goal, either. Expect him to stick in the starting lineup for the next match.

Fabian Johnson: Johnson surprisingly didn’t get torched by Juan Cuadrado. Cuadrado didn’t play a major factor in any of the goals and for the most part, Johnson limited his time on the ball. Taking Cuadrado out of the match forced Johnson to play much more reserved on offense though. He took few opportunities to overlap and do what makes him a good player.

Christian Pulisic: He was only on for 15 minutes and was the only U.S. player who looked up to the competition level. He had creativity going forward combined with excellent physical play. He should start over Gyasi Zardes or Bobby Wood in the next match.

Worst U.S. Performance

Jurgen Klinsmann: There were some players that put in pretty awful performances, but the worst job of all fell on the shoulders of the manager. Klinsmann did not have his players ready to go last night. There was a clear emphasis in the first half on closing down space and not allowing Colombia to work the ball through the midfield. Two mental lapses by the players must raise questions about how mentally prepared they were for the match. While they put together an average first half at best, they came out flat to start the second half. They stopped closing down the Colombian players and looked completely lifeless. Klinsmann had this team playing with a mentality that they were the ones up two to nothing. That on its own is not good enough. If the USMNT continues to put in flat performances like they did in the second half, Klinsmann won’t have a job once the tournament is over.

Quotes of the night:

Both Yedlin and Cameron took responsibility for their goals last night telling LWOS in the post game interviews. Yedlin conceded that he shouldn’t have had his arms out as high as he did, and he shouldn’t have turned his back on the play, “In a perfect situation, I don’t think I turn my back on the ball. It’s just fine margins that make or break a game like that.”

Cameron also discussed what may have distracted him from marking Zapata on the opener, “Originally I kinda went into the guy a little bit, and the ref looked at me and said, ‘put your hands down,’ and as soon as I looked away to see where the ball was, he left. I mean obviously I’m disappointed, I had a go at the ref, but that’s it. You live and you learn and I obviously take full responsibility. I have big enough shoulders to accept that and I can deal with it.”

Final Thoughts:

The USMNT didn’t lose because they played horrible soccer. For the first time in a long while, that’s not why they lost. As they continue to grow as players, they will continue to play better soccer. However, the lack of focus and mental grit was on full display. Not communicating or rotating on set pieces in inexcusable. The idea to turn his back on the ball by Yedlin was another crucial mental lapse. The most telling thing about their mentality last night was how they came out to start the second half. There was no urgency to put Colombia on their back foot right away. They gave away the game in the margins. While it can be a nice thing that they played better soccer, they completely put all of that to waste. You can be proud of playing better, more creative soccer, but it’s a waste to play that way and lose the game on mental lapses. A lot of that falls on the shoulders of Klinsmann. If they don’t get out of the group stage without a major fight, he should be gone.

USA’s next game in Group A is on June 7th, against Costa Rica, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.

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