Going into the tournament, it seemed highly unlikely that the United States would be able to top Group A. Many people, understandably pessimistic about recent form, thought the United States men were more likely to crash out of the group entirely than to win it. With a publicly-stated goal of reaching the semi-finals, Jurgen Klinsmann put a target out that could only be achieved by advancing past global power Colombia, CONCACAF rival Costa Rica, and CONMEBOL’s stout Paraguay side.
So, naturally, the United States advanced on top.
There are a few factors to acknowledge as we go over the two final group matches. First, Costa Rica played a hell of a game to upset Colombia and sway the group. With nothing more than pride on the line, Los Ticos came out firing, with Johan Venegas (of Montreal Impact) scoring a 21-yard rocket in the second minute to prove that they wouldn’t be a pushover opponent. Colombia’s Frank Fabra equalized in the sixth before letting in an own goal in the 34th minute. Celso Borges scored the match winner, and despite some heavy pressure in the final twenty minutes from Colombia, Costa Rica beat Colombia 3-2.
As for the earlier match… Well, it was far from pretty. Over 50,000 fans came to watch a gritty match, and the highlight of the match wasn’t even a goal. In the eleventh minute, Paraguay found themselves with a three-on-one counterattack and looked poised to open up the scoring and crush the Yanks’ dreams of advancing.
It just so happened that the one United States defender was John Brooks.
.@j_brooks25 with a tackle-and-a-half to thwart a Paraguay counterattack. #USAvPAR #MyCopaColors https://t.co/9NjwlecZNA
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 11, 2016
Brooks is quickly establishing a penchant for making clutch plays. In 2014, his header helped the United States finally defeat Ghana and ultimately the points they’d need to advance out of the group. In this match, he was able to shut down two passing lanes and executed a perfect sliding-tackle to stop an easy goal scoring opportunity.
Clint Dempsey scored his 51st goal for the USMNT in the 27th minute off of a low cross from Gyasi Zardes, and as it turned out that would be all it would take to win the group. Sparkplug DeAndre Yedlin will be out for the quarterfinal on Thursday after getting two yellows (both were deserved cards), and it’ll be curious to see what Klinsmann goes with to fill the rightback slot (likely, it’ll either be Michael Orosco or moving Fabian Johnson to the right and bringing in Edgar Castillo to leftback). Either way, the United States defied the odds and started to silence their critics, winning the group and facing off against the runners-up in Group B.
Gyasi Zardes –> Clint Dempsey –> GOAL, #USMNT. #USAvPAR #MyCopaColors https://t.co/aumNF2kGgS
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 11, 2016
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