Follow along live with USMNT vs. Colombia

The Americans are without some star players and will need youngsters to step up against a loaded Colombia lineup.

3’ Huge chance for Falcao

Antonee Robinson and John Brooks are going to have to sort out whatever’s going on here.

USMNT vs. Colombia lineups

Michael Bradley has made his return to the starting lineup for the USMNT, and he’ll get the armband too. He’s joined in the midfield by Kellyn Acosta and Julian Green, as Wil Trapp is dropped after captaining the team on a few occasions in 2018. The back five is a familiar one, and might be a set unit going forward in the event all five players are healthy.

Colombia looks to be playing two strikers, with Carlos Bacca and Radamel Falcao up top. James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado and Davinson Sanchez also make the starting XI, as Los Cafeteros field a full-strength team.

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The United States men’s national team will be looking to build on a recent victory over Mexico when it takes on Colombia on Thursday night. However, the Americans will be without three first choice stars — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams.

Colombia has brought all its stars to Tampa, which should attract a pretty heavy pro-Colombia crowd. The match is likely to set the record for a U.S. Soccer match in Tampa, with over 30,000 tickets sold as of Wednesday afternoon.

Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. ET, though kickoff isn’t likely to be until after 8 p.m. ET. You can watch the game on TV on FS1 or Univision Deportes, and online at the those networks’ streaming services.

This post will update with live coverage, starting just before kickoff and running throughout the game.

Can the USMNT play its style against a top opponent?

The United States men’s national team would like to commit to a more ambitious style of play going forward, but they were very much forced back into their own half against Brazil, and Colombia might present a similar challenge.

Still, current head coach Dave Sarachan wants to talk about the players expressing themselves.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys that we feel have a real future in this program,” Sarachan said in the pre-game press conference, adding, “we’ve established a little bit of an identity with this group which we’ve been building with each and every friendly that we’ve brought them in for.”

When asked what he thought that identity was, he talked about the players expressing themselves. “Each and every time, it’s still about the honor of wearing this crest, it’s still about competing, it’s still about trying to win games, it’s still about being yourself and showing your personality,” Sarachan said. “I hope that continues because that’s when you see the real personalities of the players, when they play without any kind of handcuffs on them,” he added.

Colombia is really good

All of Colombia’s big names are in Tampa, including James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado. Stars and Stripes FC has a scouting report of Colombia, and points out the weaknesses of Los Cafeteros’ starting lineup, if you’re an American fan looking for reasons to be optimistic.

Injuries hit 3 of the Americans’ best players

Pulisic, McKennie and Adams are all 20 years old or younger, but they’re clear first choice starters for the United States. All three are missing from this camp with injuries, and there are questions about the depth behind them. Players like Kellyn Acosta, Jonathan Amon, and — I’m ducking to avoid the rotten tomatoes being thrown at me — Michael Bradley will need to step up.

How to watch USMNT vs. Colombia

Match date/time: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL

TV: FS1 (English), Univision Deportes (Spanish)

Online: Fox Sports Go (English), Univision Deportes en vivo (Spanish)

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