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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;SANTA CLARA, Calif. \u2014 The U.S. opened the Copa Am\u00E9rica Centenario with a mood-killing 2-0 loss to Colombia here at Levi\u2019s Stadium on Friday. An eighth-minute strike by Cristi\u00E1n Zapata off a corner kick and a penalty by James Rodr\u00EDguez bookended a first half that saw the U.S. out-executed in key moments that decided the game.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The U.S. will now face significant pressure in its next game against Costa Rica on Tuesday in Chicago if it wants to have any chance of advancing as one of the top two teams in the group.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are my three thoughts on the game:\r\n\r\n&lt;h3 class=\"p1\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Set pieces told the story&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We heard all week that the one area the U.S. would have a distinct advantage over Colombia in would be on set pieces (both defensively and offensively). Colombia had been conceding goals on set pieces lately, while scoring off them has been a U.S. specialty for years. So what happened? The U.S. conceded an early goal on a corner kick when Zapata ran Geoff Cameron off a pick and finished easily past Brad Guzan.\r\n\r\n\r\n\t&lt;strong&gt;WATCH: Highlights from Colombia's 2-0 win over USA&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Meanwhile, the U.S. created dangerous free kick opportunities all night but couldn\u2019t do anything with them, whether the free-kick takers were Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley or Fabian Johnson. Dempsey did nearly get the U.S. on the board with a second-half free kick, but Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina came up with the athletic save.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It\u2019s frustrating to lose, but it\u2019s even more galling when the game is decided in the area that\u2019s &lt;em&gt;supposed&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;to be your strong suit.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3 class=\"p1\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bradley played a big role in conceding Colombia\u2019s second goal&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The U.S. needed a standout performance from its captain on Friday, but while Bradley\u2019s effort was there, his precision was missing throughout. It was Bradley\u2019s giveaway in his own half that gave Colombia a golden opportunity late in the first half, and after Bradley\u2019s desperate foul was waved off by the referee (correctly) playing advantage, Yedlin was whistled for a handball in the box.\r\n\r\n\r\n\t&lt;strong&gt;WATCH COPA&amp;nbsp;AMERICA: Every match live in Spanish on Fubo TV. Sign up now for a 24-hour free trial&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The call was hard to disagree with\u2014Yedlin\u2019s hand was in an unnatural position\u2014but the penalty goal that resulted only started after Bradley had given Colombia the opportunity. The U.S. needs more from him than this.\r\n\r\n&lt;h3 class=\"p1\"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Playing Wood, Dempsey and&amp;nbsp;Zardes as a front three takes away from what each one of them does best&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h3&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dempsey just doesn\u2019t work as a lone center forward; he needs to be a withdrawn forward in a 4-4-2 if you\u2019re going to play him up top. Wood simply loses his mojo when he\u2019s forced out wide. And Zardes is another player who is far more effective when he\u2019s in a central role, not when he\u2019s on the flank. Why Klinsmann tries to put square pegs in round holes can be counfounding, but you have to think he\u2019ll consider making some changes to the starting lineup for the Costa Rica game.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It\u2019s a game that looms even more important now after this dispiriting loss.\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2016/06/03/usa-colombia-copa-america-klinsmann-bradley-zapata-james>