Colombia down US to finish third

Glendale (US), June 26

AC Milan striker Carlos Bacca scored the only goal as Colombia defeated the United States 1-0 to clinch third place in the Copa America Centenario here.

Bacca, 29, bundled home the winner on 31 minutes, nudging in from close range to settle a hard-fought contest yesterday.

The US, beaten 4-0 by Argentina in the semifinals on Tuesday, rallied desperately to get back into the game but ultimately were frustrated by some superb goalkeeping from David Ospina. It was the second time the US had been beaten by Colombia in this tournament. The Colombians also defeated them 2-0 in the tournament's opening match.

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann had blamed his side for being "too nice" against Argentina in the semifinals, when they failed to register a single shot either on or off target. However they were unlucky not to score during an entertaining game yesterday. Colombia had gone closest to scoring first, Real Madrid star James Rodriguez being denied by a fine Tim Howard save on 12 minutes. Rodriguez was the architect for Colombia's goal just after the half hour mark, chipping a wonderful pass into the path of Santiago Arias, who headed across the six yard box for Bacca to score. 

The US responded gamely to the setback however, with Jermaine Jones almost equalising when his low shot deflected off Arias and just missed the target. Clint Dempsey had another good game but was unable to add to his Copa tally of three goals and three assists. — Reuters