While the game got off to a fast start, the United States and Colombia ended the January camp in a tepid 0-0 draw. Wasted chances on both sides were the order of the day, as Paul Arriola’s 50th international appearance was not celebrated with a win. Paxten Aaronson had a couple of good scoring chances on his international debut – following in his brother Brenden’s footsteps and becoming the eighth pair of brothers to have both senior caps for the national team – but he failed to complete his chances.
Colombia tore apart the USMNT defense, and while anchored by the experience of Aaron Long and Walker Zimmerman, neither looked comfortable. Matthew Hoppe got off to a high start for the United States and his performance pretty much summed up the overall level of the team. He was constantly in space but could never get the last ball where he wanted so it was a disappointing performance.
It’s never good to end camp without a win, but with interim manager Anthony Hudson assembling this roster late and with so many changes in lineups, the pain was to be expected. There have been brilliant performances and players like Aaronson and John Tolkin will benefit from those games, but the USMNT still has a long way to go in gaining depth behind the first team.
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