I thought this would be a good time to share my thoughts and my excitement for the Copa America, which is taking place this summer in the United States. The Copa America kicked off this summer on June 3 with the United States playing Colombia in Santa Clara, California at the world-renowned Rose Bowl. The trophy was shown before the match began, so both teams gazed upon it, wanting to lift the symbolic title holder for their club and national country team.
Off a corner kick, the Colombians scored via Zapata, the center back from Milan, and the United States were down at home in front of the roaring fans. Clint Dempsey had few chances in the first half. The only thoughts were disappointment as the Colombians scored again from a hand ball in the box after DeAndre Yedlin touched the ball trying to block a cross. James Rodriguez scored from the spot. David Ospina had a few saves in the second half as Clint Dempsey hit a spectacular free kick in the 63rd minute, only to be blocked by the gloves of Ospina. James also picked up an injury after getting tackled hard by the MLS sensation Michael Bradley.
Despite this shaky contentment and disappointing loss for Jurgen Klinsmann's team, Week Two saw the team play Costa Rica. Clint Dempsey, the star man right now for the United States in terms of striking (we will get to Brooks later in Week Three), took the opportunity to score from a penalty kick in the first half after getting knocked down hard from behind by a Costa Rican defender who was anxious to defend the impending cross coming in. In the 37th minute, Jermaine Jones tackled the same anxious Costa Rican defender hard to win the ball back and push forward with the ball through Dempsey. Jermaine Jones took a shot right outside of the box and scored with spectacular finesse, making his first goal in the tournament so far. Bobby Wood decided to take it to the next level with some four-star skills and made it 3-0 after a spin from outside the box, again into the bottom left corner. The Bundesliga (German league) will be graced with his presence next season at Hamburger SV, so I am very excited to see his skills and pace next season. Graham Zusi was subbed on later, and in the 87th minute, he was able to score for the United States, making the score 4-0. The shot went right under the goalkeeper's legs to go into the back of the net in the bottom right corner. Overall, after losing one game and winning this game, the United States pulled on through to reach the quarter finals of the Copa America, which will be surely a great spectacle. My fingers are crossed for the U.S. team to make it even further.
