U.S. seeks validation victory

For all the talk about possession, solid defense and offensive chances, the U.S. men’s national team needs a win to validate the positive vibes coming from its camp. And everyone knows it. “The result is always the most important thing at the end of the day,” coach Jurgen Klinsmann said.

The result of the United States’ opener in the Copa America Centario was a 2-0 loss to Colombia on Friday in Santa Clara, Calif. that ramped up the importance of Tuesday night’s game with Costa Rica. The Ticos played a scoreless draw with Paraguay on Saturday night, so a winner in the all-CONCACAF matchup at Chicago’s Soldier Field moves into an ideal position to grab one of two spots in the knockout round coming out of Group A.

The United States warmed up for a rare appearance in South America’s championship with May victories over Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Bolivia by a combined score of 8-1. But it got mixed reviews for its Copa opener against Colombia, one of the top teams in the world.

The U.S. had good possession numbers, but a defensive lapse by Geoff Cameron left Cristian Zapata open on a corner kick, and DeAndre Yedlin was whistled for a hand ball that set up James Rodriguez’s penalty kick for Colombia’s second goal.

Perez leads Panama past Bolivia

Blas Perez scored two goals, including the winner in the 87th minute, and Panama beat Bolivia 2-1 on a rainy Monday night in a Group D Copa America opener in Orlando, Fla.

Messi-less Argentina wins

Angel Di Maria scored in the 51st minute off a pass from Ever Banega, then later assisted on Banega’s goal, and top-ranked Argentina looked just fine without injured captain Lionel Messi in beating Chile 2-1 in its Copa America opener Monday in Santa Clara, California