'US Lacked Respect For Colombia In 5-1 Mauling': Gregg Berhalter

United States coach Gregg Berhalter accused his players of lacking respect for Colombia after the South Americans romped to an emphatic 5-1 friendly victory over the Copa America hosts on Saturday. Berhalter looked on aghast from the sidelines at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, as Colombia ruthlessly punished a string of American blunders in a clinical attacking display. Jhon Arias and Rafael Borre put Colombia 2-0 up inside 19 minutes, and although the US pulled one back from Timothy Weah on 58 minutes, "Los Cafeteros" continued probing incisively and rattled in three more unanswered goals through Richard Rios, Jorge Carrascal and Luis Sinisterra. 

The rout marked the first time the US have conceded five goals in a game since their 5-0 defeat to Mexico in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup final.

The drubbing could have been worse for Berhalter's side, who saw Colombia squander several other goal-scoring chances during the game.

"I'm really disappointed, obviously with the result," Berhalter said. "We're not framing it as a lesson learned, we're framing it as wake-up call. A really poor performance against a top team. 

"If you give a team like that the opportunities that we gave them, you're going to have no chance to win. It's never going to happen. And that's what's really disappointing about the game."

'Not good enough'

Berhalter said while he had been encouraged by aspects of his team's response after falling 2-0 down, "from the 75th minute on, it was, I think, a lack of respect for our opponent, the game of soccer, and what we're doing.

"There were some positive chunks of the game, right. But when I'm looking right now at 5-1, it's not good enough."

Berhalter named a starting line-up comprised entirely of players from