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USMNT (FIFA Rank 31) v Colombia (3)
What to Watch For:
- Will the kids finally get the start? Pundits, fans and your author on this site have been clamoring for Christian Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe to get more playing time since camp opened. Pulisic was a 63rd minute sub in the pre-tournament 1-0 victory over Ecuador and quickly proved that for once the US Soccer hype machine for the "Next Big Thing" was totally justified. Nagbe scored the winner in that game. Besides goalkeepers Evan Horvath and Tim Howard only Edgar Castillo and Perry Kitchen have yet to appear from the 23 man Copa America roster for the USMNT. Will the minutes be spread around?
- Is this Tim Howard's last USMNT start? Jurgen Klinsmann has announced that Tim Howard will start the match after Brad Guzan had played every minute in net to this point. It will be Howard's record 109th appearance for the USMNT the most ever for a goalkeeper, Kasey Keller is second with 102 caps. But with Guzan the current starter and young keepers like Bill Hamid and Evan Horvath on the way up, will this be Howard's last start in a competitive match for the USA?
- How seriously does the USMNT take this game? The USMNT were thoroughly outclassed by Colombia in their 2-0 Copa America opening loss in Santa Clara back on June 3rd. So besides the opportunity to finish third in a major tournament, it is also a chance for revenge and to prove how much the team has improved over the last 22 days. John Brooks and Fabian Johnson are nursing injuries and might not start, but Alejandro Bedoya, Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood are back from suspension and available. Look for Klinsmann to start an extremely strong lineup with the intention of capping off the tournament with a win over a top 5 ranked team in the world. Perry Kitchen's club team, Hearts in Scotland, has a Europa League Qualifier on Thursday so expect him to get at least some minutes to stay sharp as he will be heading right back to his club after the match.
- How seriously does Colombia take this game? The same question needs to be asked of Colombia. They had real aspirations to win the tournament but in Wednesday's semi-final they were blitzed by Chile who came out like a team on a mission and took a 2-0 lead after 11 minutes. Colombia got back their footing and controlled the last 15 minutes of the first half but a lightning storm that brought torrential rain resulted in more than a two hour weather delay at halftime. Upon the second half finally resuming, a clear penalty was not called for Colombia and then they went down to 10 men in the 57th minute and for all intents and purposes Colombia's tournament was over.
How to Watch:
United States v Colombia
Saturday, 5 PM
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
TV: FX, Univision and Univision Deportes
Streaming: Fox Sports Go and Univision Deportes
Notes:
- Due to TV contractual obligations, this game is on FX and not Fox Sports 1.
- Rob Stone hosts pre-match, halftime and post-match coverage alongside Alexi Lalas, Fernando Fiore and Aly Wagner. The pregame show starts at 4 PM, with kickoff at precisely 5:06 PM Pacific.
- JP Dellacamera calls the action with former U.S. National Team star Stu Holden providing analysis and Jenny Taft reporting.
- Like all Copa America Centenario knockout games except for the final, if this match is tied after 90 minutes it will go straight to penalties.
- Yellow Card accumulation did not carry over to the final or 3rd place game. The only player suspended is Carlos Sánchez who received two yellow cards in the semi-final.
This is your Sounder at Heart Copa America Centenario Third Place Match Gamethread. Watch with us.