The Copa America Centenario begins on Friday in Santa Clara with Group A action. The hosts, USA, will face off against Colombia at 9:30 PM ET.
USA comes into the tournament on a five-game winning streak and to keep it going, they'll be counting on a big performance from Clint Dempsey. The 33-year-old scored 10 goals for his country last season. His team will need him to put on a stellar performance to compensate for Jozy Altidore, who's out with a hamstring injury.
Colombia has won all three games they've played in 2016 and their star man is James Rodriguez, who is coming off a Champions League win with Real Madrid. However, Rodriguez didn't perform as well as expected for his club, so Colombia will count on Rodriquez replicating his 2014 World Cup performance. The 24-year-old Columbian took home the FIFA 2014 World Cup Golden Boot award. If he can, Colombia has the ability to win the entire tournament.
The United States and Colombia have met four times since 2005, with Columbia winning two games, and the teams drawing once. They met in the 2007 Copa America group stage, where Colombia scored a 1-0 win. Their last meeting was in a 2014 friendly and resulted in a 2-1 win for Colombia.
Soccer Odds: United States Hosts Copa America, Opens with Colombia
The Copa America Centenario begins on Friday in Santa Clara and the host country, USA, will get things started against Colombia in Group A.
Both teams come into the tournament on a roll. The United States have won four in a row, and Colombia is on a three-game winning streak. They have both been scoring plenty of goals, but are a bit shaky at the back. The two teams have split their last five meetings with two wins and a draw each, but Colombia's two wins came in the last three games.
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