US Coach Accuses Players of Lacking Respect in 5-1 Colombia Rout

United States coach Gregg Berhalter expressed severe disappointment and accused his players of lacking respect after Colombia's emphatic 5-1 friendly victory on Saturday. The South Americans ruthlessly exploited American blunders, leaving Berhalter aghast at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

Jhon Arias and Rafael Borre gave Colombia a 2-0 lead within 19 minutes. Despite Timothy Weah's goal in the 58th minute, "Los Cafeteros" continued their relentless attack, scoring three unanswered goals through Richard Rios, Jorge Carrascal, and Luis Sinisterra.

The rout marked the first time the US had conceded five goals in a game since their 5-0 defeat to Mexico in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup final. Berhalter's side could have faced an even worse fate, as Colombia squandered several other scoring opportunities.

"I'm really disappointed, obviously with the result," Berhalter said. "We're not framing it as a lesson learned, we're framing it as a wake-up call. A really poor performance against a top team."

Berhalter criticized his team's lack of respect for the opponent and the game itself, particularly in the final 15 minutes. "If you give a team like that the opportunities that we gave them, you're going to have no chance to win," he said.

Despite some positive moments, Berhalter acknowledged that the 5-1 scoreline was unacceptable. "There were some positive chunks of the game, right. But when I'm looking right now at 5-1, it's not good enough."

Berhalter fielded a starting lineup comprised entirely of players from Europe's top five leagues in preparation for their Copa America Group C opener against Bolivia on June 23. However, Colombia's early dominance threatened to overwhelm the US.

Arias opened the scoring after just six minutes, capitalizing on a defensive error by Antonee Robinson. Borre doubled Colombia's lead with an overhead kick on 19 minutes.

Weah's goal gave the US hope, but Rios's goal in the 77th minute put Colombia back in control. Carrascal and Sinisterra added late goals to seal the emphatic victory.

The US will continue their Copa America preparations with a friendly against Brazil on Wednesday.

Tags: #USMNT, #Colombia, #Friendly, #CopaAmerica, #GreggBerhalter