USMNT vs. Colombia: Top Storylines and Predictions for 2023 Friendly

The United States men's national team concludes its January camp on Saturday with a friendly match against Colombia.

The January camp typically serves as a developmental month for domestic-based players preparing for the Major League Soccer season, athletes out of the first team in Europe, or players based in Scandinavian leagues that break for the winter.

Most of the January participants are the future of the USMNT first-team roster years down the road, but FC Cincinnati's Brandon Vazquez could use a standout performance to join the top collection of players.

Vazquez was left off the 2022 FIFA World Cup roster in favor of Haji Wright, Jesus Ferreira and Josh Sargent. Ferreira is one of five World Cup participants who were brought in for some experience on a roster filled with players who have single-digit USMNT appearances.

Vazquez scored the lone USMNT goal in Wednesday's 2-1 friendly loss to Serbia. He is coming off an 18-goal season in MLS with FC Cincinnati.

The 24-year-old forward is one of the intriguing first-team prospects who should be used by interim manager Anthony Hudson inside Dignity Health Sports Park, the home of MLS' LA Galaxy.

The Colombia squad is mostly made up of players in their 20s with few international appearances. Los Cafeteros had to call up an inexperienced squad because the match does not fall into a FIFA international window.

MLS fans will have an eye on Columbus Crew striker Cucho Hernández, who bagged nine goals after his summer move from Watford, and Los Angeles FC forward Cristian Arango, who has 30 goals in the last two MLS seasons.

Hernandez, Arango and the other young Colombians on the field on Saturday will use the match as a potential lift-off point to reach the first team in 2023.

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USMNT vs. Colombia Info

Date: Saturday, January 28

Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Live Stream: TNTdrama.com

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Storylines to Watch

Brandon Vazquez's Role Up Top For USMNT

The USMNT striker competition is wide open.

The group of forwards taken to the 2022 FIFA World Cup did not perform up to expectations. Haji Wright was the only true striker to score for the USMNT in Qatar, doing so in the 76th minute of a 3-1 loss against the Netherlands in the round of 16.

If you look forward, Vazquez could be a vital addition to the first team with the Concacaf Nations League starting back up in March and the Concacaf Gold Cup coming up in the summer.

There is increased pressure on the USMNT to earn results in the Nations League because the top six teams from that competition will qualify for the 2024 Copa America. Conmebol and Concacaf announced on Friday that the tournament will be held in the United States.

The USMNT must qualify for the 2024 Copa America to test itself against the best teams in South America in high-pressure games that will be scarce in its home confederation before the World Cup since it is automatically qualified for 2026.

Vazquez could lead the line against Grenada and El Salvador in the Nations League in March if he impresses again on Saturday.

The FC Cincinnati player broke out in MLS last season with 18 goals, and he took advantage of his best opportunity in front of goal against Serbia, scoring a smart, looping header after a cross from Julian Gressel.

The USMNT interim coaching staff would be wise to give Vazquez as many minutes as possible to see what he can do up top, and to also persuade the forward to commit his international future to the United States.

Vazquez is still eligible to play for Mexico because the two January matches occur in a non-sanctioned FIFA window. He can be cap-tied to the USMNT if he appears in the Nations League.

The USMNT's pitch to Vazquez is that he does not have to wait long for a first-team call-up. He could be inserted into the starting lineup against Grenada. That decision may come down to Anthony Hudson. Team USA is still without a manager. Gregg Berhalter, the team's previous manager, was out of contract at the end of 2022, and his position is still in question. Following allegations of domestic assault, he revealed that he kicked Rosalind Berhalter, his now-wife, in the legs during an argument in 1991. U.S. Soccer hired an independent law firm to investigate Gregg Berhalter, and former Colorado Rapids manager Hudson has taken over as interim coach.

U.S. Soccer is also looking for a new sporting director and men's team general manager after Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride departed their respective posts this week. A head-coaching search could take months, especially if the high-ranking positions are filled first.

There is a scenario in which Vazquez impresses enough on Saturday to earn the starting No. 9 job for Hudson in March, so every minute is vital to see how he can follow up his scoring performance from Wednesday.

Cristian Arango, Cucho Hernandez Looking To Make Mark On National Team

The young American players are not the only ones fighting for first-team call-ups in FIFA windows.

All but one of the Colombian players called in to face the USMNT in Carson, California, have a single-digit appearance total on the international stage.

Cristian Arango and Cucho Hernandez are the most-known players of that bunch to MLS fans.

Arango has been a consistent force inside the LAFC attack alongside Carlos Vela for the last two seasons. He scored 14 league goals in 2021 and followed that up with 16 tallies in the Black and Gold's MLS Cup-winning season in 2022.

The 23-year-old Hernandez took MLS by storm last summer and fall by scoring nine times for the Columbus Crew.

Arango and Hernandez could break into Colombia's first team over the next four years leading up to the World Cup. A strong performance, albeit against a USMNT mix of veterans and young players, would boost their stock a bit within the national team.

That should be the overarching theme of Saturday's friendly. Most of the players on both rosters are trying to move their way up depth charts to begin the 2026 World Cup cycle on a high note.

Prediction: USMNT 1, Colombia 1

There are a lot of unknowns across both rosters at the international level.

Vazquez, Arango and Hernandez provide quality up top, but their teammates still need to feed them passes to set up scoring opportunities.

Neither squad has a lot of in-match chemistry at the senior level, and that could make the friendly look disjointed at times.