The USMNT falls 5 to 1 against Colombia: "We were nowhere near the level we need to play at if we want to win games coming into Copa America"

(AFP - Voz Media) If two days ago Christian Pulisic claimed that the United States was a candidate to win its first Copa América, Saturday's friendly against Colombia was a bucket of cold water.

After the 5-1 defeat, the captain of the national team was honest: "We were nowhere near the level we need to play at if we want to win games coming into Copa America."

This Saturday at FedEx Field, the South American squad opened the friendly scoring with a goal from Jhon Arias in the 6th minute and a spectacular overhead kick from Rafael Santos Borré. Tim Weah scored a goal, but substitutes Richard Ríos (77'), Jorge Carrascal (85') and Luis Sinisterra (88') completed Colombia's display, which is undefeated in 19 games with Argentinian Néstor Lorenzo on the bench.

"We're not framing it as a lesson learned. We're actually framing it as a wake-up call," said U.S. national team head coach Gregg Berhalter. "From the 75th minute on, it was I think a lack of respect for our opponent, the game of soccer and what we were doing."

The USMNT will have another test before the start of the tournament, an even more difficult one: on Wednesday they will face Brazil, one of the favorites to take the cup.