U.S. looking for Copa America consolation in third-place game
Dutch Coach Louis van Gaal left little doubt how he felt about his team having to contest a third-place game in the last World Cup.
“This match should never be played,” he complained. “No football tournament … should have players playing for third or fourth.”
Juergen Klinsmann would beg to differ. In his final appearance as coach of the German national team, in the third-place game of the 2006 World Cup, Germany erased a crushing loss in the tournament semifinals by beating Portugal. It was a victory that triggered a massive parade, earned Klinsmann the order of merit, the country’s highest civilian honor, restored pride in the national team and set the foundation for the world championship Germany won two years ago.
Klinsmann will coach in another third-place game Saturday, this time leading the U.S. national team against Colombia in the penultimate match of the Copa America Centenario. And while he doesn’t expect it to provide a springboard to a World Cup title in 10 years, he left no doubt Friday that the game is more than a consolation match — especially because it’s a rematch with the team that beat the U.S. in the tournament opener three weeks ago.
“It’s a game that you welcome because it’s another game against a very good team,” he said. “In this case, we met them in the first game and lost. And now this is a big opportunity to correct that result. And to show growth throughout the tournament.
“So it’s big. It’s an opportunity also to finish off on a very high note. Sometimes it’s better to win a third-place game then to lose the final.”
For Klinsmann’s team, the stakes are indeed high. After losing to Colombia, 2-0, the U.S. reeled off three straight wins in a major international tournament for the first time ever. That might have saved Klinsmann’s job, but it also earned the Americans a semifinal meeting with top-ranked Argentina and Lionel Messi, who dominated the U.S., 4-0.
As a result, Saturday’s game will determine if the Americans finish the Centenario with their heads held high following victories over four quality teams — including two ranked among the top 13 in the world — or whether they stumble away with two consecutive losses and a split of their six tournament games.
“This game is huge for us. No doubt about it,” Klinsmann said. “There’s a lot of pride. This is a wonderful opportunity for our players to prove a point. Let’s show them now that we are growing, that we are learning [and] … finish off this tournament on a very high note.”
He’ll try to do that with a lineup slightly different from the one he has favored here. For starters Tim Howard will replace Brad Guzan in goal. And while forward Bobby Wood and midfielders Jermaine Jones and Alejandro Bedoya all return from one-game suspensions, defender Fabian Johnson did not practice for a second straight day Friday, leaving his availability and that of center back John Brooks in doubt.
However, those who are expected to play have brought into Klinsmann’s belief that the third-place game offers both a chance for redemption and momentum.
“Sometimes you can say it would be better, maybe, to go back now to the club teams and be focused there. But we play against Colombia again. We can change the whole view how [the tournament] looks,” Jones said.
“Now we have a second chance, and we don’t want to lose again.”
Colombia, ranked third in the world by FIFA, fell to Costa Rica in group play and to Chile in a semifinal interrupted for 2 ½ hours by heavy rains and thunder. It will play Saturday without midfielder Carlos Sanchez, who drew two yellow cards against Chile, and could be without captain James Rodriguez, who will undergo shoulder surgery after the tournament.
kevin.baxter@latimes.com
