Matt Turner kept falling to the field, the American goalkeeper punching the ground in frustration.
A defensive lapse by Antonee Robinson and aimless defensive play by Johnny Cardoso, Tim Weah and Cameron Carter-Vickers led to four goals in an embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Colombia in a Copa América warmup match on Saturday.
“I’m going to apologize to the fans,” Turner said. “That’s not what we’re about. And, yeah, we need to bounce back in a big way.”
It was the Americans’ first four-goal loss since a 4-0 defeat in a 2016 World Cup qualifier at Costa Rica that caused US Soccer to fire coach Jürgen Klinsmann. It’s the first time since 2009 the USMNT have conceded five goals in a single match on home soil.
“From the 75th minute on, it was I think a lack of respect for our opponent [and] the game of soccer, what we were doing,” coach Gregg Berhalter said postgame. “We’re not framing it a lesson learned, we’ll frame it as a wake-up call.”
Jhon Arias put Colombia ahead in the sixth minute after the ball deflected to him when Robinson tried a sliding clearance without checking who was near. Rafael Santos Borré doubled the lead with a spectacular overhead kick in the 19th. The US had not given up two goals in the first 20 minutes since a March 2016 World Cup qualifier.
Weah cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 58th, but Cardoso’s turnover led to Richard Ríos’ goal in the 77th, Weah’s giveaway to Jorge Carrascal’s in the 85th and Carter-Vickers’ pass that didn’t appear aimed at anyone to Luis Sinisterra’s in the 88th.
“There were some positive chunks of the game,” Berhalter said. “But, again, what I’m looking at right now, 5-1? It’s not good enough, that’s for sure.”
Colombia extended their unbeaten streak to 22 and their winning streak to seven. The USMNT still waiting to beat a top-25 side in the Fifa rankings outside Concacaf since Berhalter took change in 2019.
“Everybody could look in the mirror after that game or needs to look in the mirror after that game and figure it out,” Turner said. “They just had a different intensity about them that we didn’t have.”
The USMNT have six losses and two draws against the Colombians since 2005 and are winless in five games against South American opponents since 2019.
“Obviously, it’s a learning experience for all the boys,” Weah said.
Colombia will play Bolivia in an exhibition match in Denver on 15 June, then will enter the Copa group stages against Paraguay, Costa Rica and Brazil. The US and Colombia could meet in the quarter-finals.
Before a pro-Colombian crowd clad in yellow jerseys at Commanders Field, American players wore rainbow numbers on their jerseys for Pride Month.
For the first time in American history, all 11 starters played for clubs in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France. Just six of 143 starting positions have been filled with Major League Soccer players for the 13 matches the full pool has been available since the 2022 World Cup, including three of 99 since Gregg Berhalter returned as coach.
Colombia went ahead in the sixth minute when James Rodríguez threaded a pass that went off the left leg of a sliding Robinson to Arias. He took a touch to get clear of Tim Ream and from six yards beat Turner over the goalkeeper’s left shoulder to the near post.
Colombia doubled their lead in the 19th after Rodríguez played a short corner kick to Arias, who crossed. Tom Ream headed the ball in a clearance attempt, and Mateus Uribe headed the ball back in front. With his back to the goal from 5 yards out, Santos Borré leaned back as he jumped and with his right foot made an overhead kick that sent the ball in on a hop to Turner’s left.
The US will face Brazil in a friendly on Wednesday in Orlando in what will be their final warm-up game before the Copa América.
“There’s some glaring things that you have to address if you’re going to compete at this level,” Berhalter said. “Guys just didn’t do their job. It’s about your role, your responsibility and we didn’t do that.”
