USMNT hold Colombia to scoreless draw in international friendly

The United States Men’s National Team held Colombia 0-0 on Saturday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. Here’s what you need to know:

• This is the fourth time the USMNT has faced Colombia in their career. On Saturday, the USMNT had lost four straight against Colombia.
• Colombia led on shots 12-5 but the USMNT had the advantage on shots on target 2-1.
• Colombia had 55% possession to USMNT’s 45%.
• The USMNT finished with a loss and a draw in those January international friendlies. Against Serbia on January 25, the USMNT lost 2-1.

AthleticismInstant analysis of:

Who stood out in the game?

There wasn’t really a standout to come out of this game. Paxten Aaronson had a great time on the pitch but also showed areas he still needs to work on, including his strength on the ball and the end product. It was certainly something to lean on for the younger brother of USA World Cup midfielder Brenden Aaronson. New York Red Bulls left-back John Tolkin has shown enough to take a closer look at a position where the United are still looking for depth behind Antonee Robinson.

The goal of January’s camp is to find a few players to add legitimate competition to the roster, and it feels like USA accomplished that in both games. Twelve players have won their first USMNT cap across games, the most in a single month since June 1988 (15), per Opta. — Tenorio

What’s next for the USMNT?

The USMNT’s next matches will be in the CONCACAF Nations League in March against Grenada and El Salvador. As an official FIFA window, this will be the first opportunity for the full World Cup squad to meet again. It remains to be seen whether caretaker manager Anthony Hudson will call up the core of star players – he could opt to give the likes of Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Sergiño Dest and others a break – but that could be a good chance to see some European-based players who weren’t at the World Cup, like Djordje Mihailovic, Taylor Booth, Chris Richards and Daryl Dike. — Tenorio

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(Picture: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)