Colombia defeats USMNT again in Copa America's 3rd-place match

South American football continues to top North American football at the Copa America Centenario.

On Saturday, in the Copa America Centenario's third-place match, Colombia defeated the United States men's national team for the second time at the tournament, producing a 1-0 victory over Jurgen Klinsmann's side to finish third at the Copa America for the fourth time in its history.

In more than one way, the fixture held a sense of deja vu. At the 1995 Copa America, Colombia battered the USMNT 4-1 to take third place as Luis Manuel Quinonez, Carlos Valderrama, Faustino Asprilla, and Freddy Rincon all found the back of the net. The two teams also met in the Copa America Centenario's inaugural match, where Los Cafeteros kicked off the competition with a 2-0 victory.

The game at the University of Phoenix Stadium, however, was much closer. The USMNT was somewhat unlucky to lose and might have won on another day, as all that separated the two teams was a moment of brilliant football from Colombia. The quartet of Juan Cuadrado, James Rodriguez, Santiago Arias, and Carlos Bacca produced a wonderful passing sequence that Bacca capped off by sliding in Tim Howard's six-yard box.

Related - Watch: Carlos Bacca slides in to score after Colombia slices USMNT open

While the USMNT's fourth-place finish equals its best-ever performance at the Copa America, Klinsmann is exiting the tournament under the magnifying glass. He took over as the team's manager in 2011 and was supposed to develop a system that would take the North Americans to the upper echelon of international football. If the Copa America Centenario is a measure of progress over the last five years, then it doesn't look good.

The USMNT finished fourth at the 1995 Copa America, reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup, and lost narrowly to Brazil in the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup. Under Klinsmann, the team did win the 2013 Gold Cup, but it's hard to pinpoint where the significant improvement lies in contrast to what was accomplished from the mid-1990s to late 2000s, particularly given its struggles in 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Beyond the raw results, the USMNT also looks nowhere near the level of a powerhouse like Argentina, who put Klinsmann's side in its place with a 4-0 victory in the semi-final. How U.S. Soccer responds to the German manager's results on home soil will be fascinating, regardless of the outcome.

On Sunday, at MetLife Stadium, Argentina and Chile will do battle in the final, which marks a rematch of the final from last year's Copa America and features what are indisputably South America's top two teams, far more developed than the likes of the USMNT or Mexico.