The U.S. men’s national team was eliminated from the Copa America in the group stage on Monday, losing 1-0 to Uruguay at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
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The tournament hosts played with high intensity throughout the match and narrowly out-possessed Uruguay, but even an encouraging first half showed signs of trouble. While the U.S. limited Uruguay to zero shots on goal, it had just one shot before halftime, a worrying tally for a team in desperate need of goals.
A disciplined first half turned into a sloppy second half, however, as the U.S. national team’s search for a goal became frantic. It didn’t help that Panama, with whom it was tied on points before kickoff, had taken the lead against Bolivia, but the latter’s equalizer offered some respite midway through the second half. U.S. national team head coach Gregg Berhalter raised each of his index fingers to tell his players that the score in the other game was 1-1, putting them back in second place.
That hope was short-lived, however, as Uruguay scored the only goal of the game just seconds later. Mathias Olivera headed in a set-piece in the 66th minute, and the goal survived a lengthy VAR check that indicated Chris Richards held him offside during the play. The U.S.’s frantic race for a goal became even more chaotic from there, and in the end, they managed just 0.58 expected goals on eight shots.
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Refereeing was also a constant issue for both teams throughout the match, with Peru’s Kevin Ortega seemingly unwilling to keep a tight game at bay. He showed three yellow cards but let several important fouls slide and also made an unusual decision by opting to play Uruguay’s advantage while showing American Richards a yellow card in the first half. Several players also suffered injuries due to the physical nature of the game: Uruguay’s Maximiliano Araujo left the game on a stretcher and in a neck brace, while American Folarin Balogun also left before halftime with a hip problem. American Joe Scally was also knocked down before the break after a challenge from Darwin Nunez but managed to play much of the second half.
What’s next for the USMNT?
This result, coupled with Panama’s 3-1 win over Bolivia, sends the U.S. out early. The tournament hosts were expected to make the quarterfinals after being drawn in what many considered a favorable group, having failed to impress in any of their three group stage matches. The Copa America was meant to serve as a measuring stick for the U.S. national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup on home soil, and instead of getting a chance to prove themselves against the best of the best, the U.S. not only faltered against a rising team like Uruguay, but also stumbled against statistically inferior Panama and showed nothing new in their win over Bolivia.
The Copa America experience calls into question the direction the U.S. national team has taken since the 2022 World Cup, with many arguing that the team has made little progress since that tournament. The early exit will also inspire a new round of criticism for Berhalter, whose job will undoubtedly be more contested as a result.
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