SANTA CLARA, California — The United States and Colombia national selection teams open the historic 2016 Copa América Centenario Friday, June 3 in Santa Clara, California.
The field of Levi’s Stadium will be the stage of the first contest of the Copa, between the host team and the Colombians, the former trying to recover good image left in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, although dirtied a bit in the last Copa America, in 2015.
This tournament will be a great opportunity for both teams to show they have returned to a higher level of play. In the era of manager Jurgen Klismann, the front line of the U.S. has presented more doubts than joy, including the suffering that manifested itself in the present World Cup qualifier.
Before their home fans, the “Stars and Stripes” side want to make history, and for now the first major test is named Colombia, certainly a worthy rival as in this Copa América Centenario it is considered a candidate for the title.
Just last year they played a friendly match that ended in a scoreless draw under the memory of the match starring the U.S. and Colombians in the 1994 World Cup, where the 2-1 U.S. victory took with that fated Colombian goalie Andrés Escobar, who was later murdered.
Friday another story will be written, with a Colombian side that again has a great generation of players led by James Rodríguez, and the United States waiting to resurface with new breed.
The match begins at 8:30 p.m. Mexican Central Time, in Group A pairing.