USA coach Andreas Herzog is expecting “another real fight” against Colombia in the second leg of their Olympic play-off on Tuesday, after his team earned a valuable 1-1 draw in the first leg in Barranquilla on Friday (25 March).

Despite a partisan home crowd and fierce heat – with 32 degrees and nearly 70 per cent humidity – the visitors took the lead through Luis Gil in the fifth minute, but heavy pressure from the Colombians resulted in a 68th-minute penalty, which no.10 Juan Quintero slotted home (see video highlights below).

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The USA left the pitch slightly happier, having scored an away goal that will count double if the aggregate score after the second leg – in Frisco, Texas, on Tuesday (29 April) – remains tied. This means a 0-0 draw on home turf would see the USA grab the last place in the men’s football tournament at the Rio 2016 Games, while a 1-1 tie would result in extra-time and possibly a penalty shoot-out, and a draw of 2-2 or more would see Colombia qualify.

However, former Austria midfield star Herzog knows Colombia will be difficult to keep at bay. “Colombia is a good team that can easily score away from home, but we will have a better game at home,” he said. “I expect another real fight for 90 minutes. It’s still close. Finishing 1-1 with the away goal was huge for us.

“I saw great fighting spirit in my team, but at home we have to do a better job in possession”

USA coach Andreas Herzog

A Colombia fan gets into the Olympic spirit in Barranquilla (Getty Images/Latin Content/Gal Schweizer)

Colombia coach Carlos ‘Piscis’ Restrepo admitted he was slightly disapointed with Friday’s result but stressed that his team has what it takes to win in Texas. “It wasn’t the result we were hoping for, but the series is still open, we can still fight,” he said.

“We know we are facing a good opponent, but we have a great team to deal with the second leg, and we aspire to win”

Colombia coach Carlos Restrepo

The USA finished third in their continental qualifying tournament last October, behind Mexico and Honduras, who earned places at Rio 2016. This put the USA into the play-off against Colombia, who were runners up behind Argentina in February’s South American Olympic qualifier.

The winner of the play-off will join the following sides in the 16-team men’s Olympic football tournament in August: Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Fiji, Mexico, Honduras, Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, Japan, Republic of Korea, Iraq.

The women’s line-up is already complete, after Sweden became the 12th team to qualify earlier this month. The draw for the two tournaments will be staged at the Maracanã Stadium on 14 April.

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Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.