Three reasons to watch USA vs Colombia in Copa third-place match

The USA was a bit humiliated in its semifinal matchup with Argentina, as La Albiceleste romped to a 4-0 win in Houston. It was assumed that the US would struggle against one of the greatest national teams in the world, but registering only one shot and conceding four goals shows just how out of their depth the Yanks were.

The hosts’ tournament isn’t over, though. The US can still leave the Copa America Centenario with its head held high if it can put in a good performance on Saturday. It might seem like a useless formality, but US soccer fans have one more opportunity to see their team play in a top tournament.

Here are three reasons to tune into the third-place match at 5 p.m. Saturday, after the Sounders match against NYCFC:

1. Sweet revenge.

The Americans didn’t play poorly in their opening match against Colombia, despite the wretched result. If a few tiny things had gone their way, they could have at least eked out a draw in that match. Match against Argentina aside, the US has played well in this tournament and deserved to get as far as it did. The Yanks will want to show the world and their own fans that they deserve to be on such a stage, and revenge against Colombia will do just that.

2. The future… and maybe a sendoff.

I’m not sure how US coach Jürgen Klinsmann will line his team up on Saturday, but I have a feeling it won’t be business as usual. He’ll want to mix things up a little, giving some younger and fringe players a shot against a team that his normal starters failed to beat. Hopefully we’ll see Christian Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe especially, and Bobby Wood (who was suspended against Argentina) will likely be back in the lineup. Klinsmann also announced that he’d be looking to the past for the match as well — he named Tim Howard as the starting goalkeeper on Friday. It’s just speculation, but some think this could be Howard’s final appearance as a United States international. Even if it’s not announced, hopefully the team and fans give one of America’s greatest ever players a great sendoff.

3. Clint Dempsey inches towards history.

The Sounders forward is only five goals away from equaling Landon Donovan’s USMNT scoring record (57), and including him in this match will give him a chance to get another onto his tally. Hopefully Dempsey will get more chances in the future, but squeezing in another goal or two in this tournament could help him get closer to breaking Donovan’s record. Sounders fans will also hope he gets back into a scoring rhythm before he heads back to Seattle, where he’s had a pretty woeful season so far.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.