Americans Kill Optimism in Copa Debut

All the fanfare and excitement that surrounded the Copa America was gone less than eight minutes into the tournament Friday night in Santa Clara, California for American fans. Cristian Zapata's fantastic finish off of a corner kick in the eighth minute proved to be the winner for Colombia as it defeated the host US squad, 2-0, in the Copa America opener. As has become custom, the match left US supporters searching their feelings, wondering how to feel after a defeat that puts the Americans in a difficult position moving forward.

On one hand, Colombia is ranked third in the world and a 2-0 defeat seems like nothing to hang heads about, but on the other hand, it was not necessarily a well-played match for the Americans despite the claims postgame that it was. Colombia's early goal off a corner kick was perfectly executed, but Geoff Cameron appeared to lose Zapata as he made a run around a pick. The goal crushed any early momentum the Americans had with the home crowd backing them and chances were few and far between in the first half.

Things got worse at the end of the half as DeAndre Yedlin was whistled for a handball in the box, which earned Colombia a penalty. James Rodriguez, who would later leave due to a shoulder injury, netted the penalty with authority, putting the US down two at the interval.

Clint Dempsey's strike from just outside the box midway through the first half was the only good look the Americans would have in the first 45 minutes, and it sailed just wide of the right post. With the exception of Dempsey's shot, the US struggled to get anything off set pieces and Michael Bradley continually found himself with the ball in the middle of the park, only to turn it over with an errant pass. His turnover led to the Yedlin handball, a play that summed up his night in a nutshell.

Dempsey provided the US with one more quality chance off a set piece in the second half, but Colombia's David Ospina made a diving save to maintain his clean sheet. Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic, a pair of newcomers who captured the nation's attention during friendlies leading up the Copa, both played well off the bench, but the US simply did not generate enough quality offensive chances to keep up with the Colombian side.

Bradley's poor play doomed the Americans and the lack of chances was a death sentence against a quality side like Colombia. So which is it for the US? Is it the glass-half-full outlook that besides two plays they played okay? Or is the glass-half-empty outlook that they generated only two shots on goal, while killing any optimism the fan base had about a quality showing in the opener?

These kind of debates have come to define Jurgen Klinsmann's time as manager and, quite frankly, it's getting old. For a country that wants to take the next step into international soccer relevancy, outcomes like Friday night's have to be seen as a disappointment. Surely nobody expected the US to go out and dominate against the world's third-ranked team, but only two shots on goal and poor play from the captain have to be deemed unacceptable.

Moving forward, the US will not face a team in Group A of the caliber that Colombia was, but Tuesday's match against Costa Rica in Chicago is a must-win for the Americans. The result is certainly attainable, but some adjustments will have to be made.

A win would put the Americans back in a good place in the group and might just rekindle that optimism that so many felt going into the tournament. For at least one writer, that would most certainly be true.

USA and Costa Rica kick off at 7 p.m. CT at Soldier Field in Chicago Tuesday night.