Colombia lobs more trash talk at U.S. on eve of match
With their Round of 16 match against the favored United States less than 24 hours away, the Colombian women's soccer team has already won. The battle of words, that is.
Earlier in the week, it was Lady Andrade -- the same Lady Andrade who punched Abby Wambach in the eye during a 3-0 American win in the London Olympics -- who predicted a Colombian win in Monday's match, telling USA Today: "[The United States] belittle us. They think we're a team they're going to walk all over and it will be an easy game for them. ... We're going to beat them since they like to talk so much."
To their credit, the U.S. women did not take the bait, insisting instead that Andrade's comments come as a complete surprise to them, though they did notice them.
"I think certain players prepare for games in different ways. Obviously, we've seen what Lady has said, but we haven't really been the ones starting that in the beginning," U.S. striker Alex Morgan said Saturday.
Then on Sunday, it was Colombian Yoreli Rincon's turn:
"They defeated us 3-0, however they said all sort of things because one of their players unfortunately got smacked," Rincon said, according to NBC Sports. "But that happens in many matches. It always happens, there is a foul and a player is awarded a card following that episode. And because of something that happened three years ago, they’ve said things that have not been taken by us in the best way."
When asked to elaborate on the words that were said, Rincon cut it short.
"No, I don’t think that is relevant. I've not been reading the news much. They’ve said that it is a very easy game for them, that they are happy because they’ve played Colombia."
Monday, 8 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports 1. Should be fun!
