The most intriguing matchup in midfield will be Tyler Adams versus James Rodriguez. Adams is reportedly looking fit in the US camp, but has barely played for almost 2 years now with a string of injuries. He looked fantastic in the last set of Nations League games and we’re backing him to continue that form on Saturday. US fans may remember the man he’ll need to keep quiet, Rodriguez, from a rock star performance at the 2014 World Cup that catapulted him into the global soccer elite with a spell at Real Madrid. Rodriguez is now 32 and plays in Brazil for Sao Paolo. His performances for Colombia’s national team have been excellent in the last year so it’s no cake walk, but he’s not the same player he once was. Look for Adams to put Rodriguez directly in his pocket.

The marquee matchup in midfield though is Weston McKennie versus Jefferson Lerma, who has put in a strong season of performances for Crystal Palace. Two studs go head to head here and Lerma will be looking to keep the US playmaker quiet. 

Last but not least here is Yunus Musah against Kevin Castano. Castano plays for Krasnodar in Russia. Advantage USA. We picked Musah in our Starting 11 specifically so he can provide cover in a key positional battle in the next section of the pitch – Joe Scally versus Luis Diaz. We like Musah’s agility to keep up with Diaz so we’re starting him over Reyna. Let’s see if Coach Berhalter does the same. 

Possibly the most important matchup of the game takes place in the US’s defensive third, Joe Scally vs. Luis Diaz. Diaz is unquestionably Colombia’s best player. He featured all season for a Liverpool team that challenged for the Premier League title. In Colombia’s impressive November World Cup Qualifying win over Brazil, Diaz scored both of Colombia’s goals. He goes up against Joe Scally, who will be filling in for the injured Sergino Dest. We like Scally, but this is a tough match up for him. We would have really liked to see Dest here given his agility and better ability to stay with the shifty Diaz. We think Scally will need cover, which is why we’ve got Musah at RM and Richards at right-sided CB in our lineup. Both have the agility to match up with Diaz any time he creates space against Scally. 

Colombia’s other attacking options are strong but not like Diaz. Rafael Borre is a quick attacker who plays in Brazil. We think Miles Robinson can keep him relatively quiet. Jhon Arias also plays in Brazil and we expect Antonee Robinson to win that matchup.

 Colombia doesn’t pose much threat in the air, so our advice to Scally is to keep Diaz wide. Diaz is dangerous cutting in from the left, but we think if we keep him wide our CBs will handle any crosses he is able to get in. 

This spot is a concern for the US heading into this tournament. We rate Turner and Horvath highly, but both are coming off of less-than-stellar club seasons, especially Turner who somehow found his way to the bench at Nottingham Forrest after a series of high profile mistakes. We think getting back into US camp will be good for him, but lack of game time does make us nervous for the Copa. 

Still, Turner is a quality keeper and better than any of Colombia’s options. Advantage USA. 

Our bench is actually kind of stacked. We have guys who can change a game – Gio Reyna, Haji Wright, Malik Tillman. We have depth a defensive midfield as Cardoso has had an excellent season in La Liga for Real Betis. He’s now tied for the 3rd most value US player in the transfer market, behind only CP10 and Balogun. Tillman had a fantastic season for PSV with 9 goals and 10 assists. 

Colombia’s bench features Luis SInisterra, who many US fans will remember from the 22/23 season with Leeds. He’s pacey and quick, and can score. The rest of their bench is solid, but doesn’t scare us. As the game wears on we like the US to get stronger.