By FRANCO PANIZO
Three days after settling for a 2-2 result versus Poland, the U.S. men's national team was held to scoreless draw against Colombia at PPL Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Head coach Bob Bradley deployed a 4-3-3 formation that looked more like a 4-1-4-1 to start the match, but it proved ineffective against a Colombian team that enjoyed much of the possession.
That changed after halftime as the Americans reverted to their usual 4-4-2 setup and made four substitutions to start the second half.
The change in formation allowed the United States to create chances, one of which was a header from Jozy Altidore that went straight to goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon in the 86th minute.
Two promising youngsters received their first caps in the match. FC Dallas winger Brek Shea started and played 45 minutes while Aston Villa defender Eric Lichaj played the second half after coming on for Jonathan Spector. Shea struggled to impose his will against the Colombians, but Lichaj performed well, even providing the service for Altidore's late header with a cross from the right flank.
Oguchi Onyewu started his second match since the World Cup and captained the Americans through the first 45 minutes before being replaced by Michael Parkhurst at halftime.
Jermaine Jones received his second cap for the United States. He started, went the distance and received a yellow card.
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