Kansas City, Missouri (July 1, 2024) – The U.S. Men’s National Team ended its 2024 Copa America journey with a hard-fought, fiercely contested 1-0 loss to South American powerhouse Uruguay on Monday night. The U.S. finished its Group C play with three points (1 win, 2 losses, 0 draws), finishing in third place behind Uruguay (3 wins, 0 losses, 0 draws, 9 points) and Panama (2 wins, 1 loss, 0 draws). Only the top two teams advanced to the tournament quarterfinals.
The U.S. had a chance to advance in the final minutes of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, but Uruguay’s Matias Olivera scored a controversial goal off a set piece in the 66th minute to give the South Americans a lead they would not relinquish. Meanwhile, in Orlando, Florida, Panama scored an early lead against Bolivia in the final Group C match. Needing two goals to advance, the U.S. had no answer to Uruguay’s intense pressure and solid defense.
Forced to make at least one change to his starting lineup due to Tim Weah’s red card suspension, coach Gregg Berhalter opted to bring back the midfield trio that led the United States to the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Monday: Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah. It was Musah’s first Copa America start. Gio Reyna, who was deployed in midfield in the previous group stage matches against Bolivia and Panama, moved to left wing. Berhalter’s back four remained unchanged, with goalkeeper Matt Turner finding the net again after being sidelined with a leg contusion against Panama.
The U.S. national team played Uruguay with a full roster. Despite winning their first two games, La Celeste A place in the quarterfinals was still far from assured when play began on Monday, so coach Marcelo Bielsa, who was serving a one-match suspension, fielded the same team that had beaten Bolivia 5-0 four days earlier.
Still, the U.S. started the game on a bright note, showing a willingness to win loose balls and thread passes through the Uruguayan defense. In the 13th minute, Reina delivered a dangerous cross, which goalkeeper Sergio Roche intercepted just before it reached U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, and defender Antonee Robinson headed the ball into the goal. But that rhythm didn’t last long, as tactical fouls, collisions and the referee’s whistle disrupted the flow and limited both teams’ scoring chances. Uruguay’s Maximiliano Araújo and Balogun were both taken off with injuries before halftime.
America’s fortunes ebbed and flowed in the second half. After the first hour, many of the 55,460 fans in the stands at Arrowhead and in uniform realized that Bolivia had tied the score with Panama. At that point, a 0-0 draw with Uruguay would have been enough to send the Americans into the knockout stages. But just a few minutes later, the 15-time Copa America champions were leading. Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo fired in a sublime header that forced a diving save from Turner. But then… La Celeste Olivera, the other centre-back, was first to get to the rebound and, when Araujo made contact, it looked like he was slightly offside, but after a few minutes of checking, VAR allowed the goal to go through.
Panama scored a second goal in Orlando soon after, and the U.S. had to try to come back for the win. Berhalter brought on Josh Sargent and Haji Wright in attack, and there were some hectic moments in the Uruguay penalty box as the home team struggled to break through. Wright’s best chance came in the 87th minute, when a shot from Wright was saved by Rocher. The U.S. took eight total shots, three of which were on target.
Following the 2024 Copa America, the U.S. Men’s National Team will reconvene in early September for friendlies against CONCACAF rival Canada (September 7 in Kansas City, Kansas) and newly crowned OFC Nations Cup champions New Zealand (September 10 in Cincinnati, Ohio). The next major tournament for the U.S. will be the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where they will seek their eighth regional championship.
Goal Scoring
URU – Matias Olivera, 66th minute: Uruguay curled a free kick from the right wing and centre-back Ronald Araujo headed it sharply towards goal. Matt Turner dived to the right to flick the ball away, but Olivera got there first and pushed it over the line. After a lengthy VAR review, the goal was allowed. USA 0, Uruguay 1 Final result
Other notes
- The United States’ overall record against Uruguay is two wins, three losses and four draws.
- Haji Wright and Malik Tillman came on as second-half substitutes, making their first appearances in a Copa America match.
- Coach Gregg Berhalter made one change to the lineup that played against Panama on Thursday, bringing in Yunus Musah to start for the first time in the tournament in place of suspended attacker Tim Weah.
- Musa (21 years, 215 days) became the youngest USMNT player to earn 25 competitive caps when he beat out Jozy Altidore, who was 21 years, 220 days old when he made his 25th competitive appearance on June 14, 2011, in the CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Guadeloupe.
- Christian Pulisic became the 15th U.S. Men’s National Team player to reach 50 appearances. At 25 years and 287 days old, Pulisic is the second-youngest player to do so since Landon Donovan (25 years and 100 days old), who did so in a Gold Cup match against El Salvador on June 12, 2007.
- Pulisic captained the U.S. national team for the 26th time tonight. Under Pulisic’s captaincy, the Americans have a record of 17 wins, 5 losses and 4 draws.
- As head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team, Gregg Berhalter has a record of 44 wins, 17 losses and 13 ties in 74 games played, including 29 wins, 9 losses and 7 ties in 45 competitive games.
- The average age of today’s starting eleven was 25 years and 255 days.
- The starting eleven averaged 39 caps and made 24 appearances in all competitions.
-US Men’s National Team Match Report-
Match: USA vs. Uruguay
date: July 1, 2024
competition: 2024 Copa America – Group C
venue: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri.
Attendance: 55,460
kick off: 8pm local time / 9pm eastern time
weather: 78 degrees, sunny
Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | debt |
united states of america | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ur | 0 | 1 | 1 |
URU – Mathias Olivera | 66th minute |
lineup:
united states of america: 1-Matt Turner, 22-Joe Scali (19-Haji Wright, 79), 3-Chris Richards, 13-Tim Ream (17-Malik Tillman, 89), 5-Antonee Robinson, 8-Weston McKennie, 4-Tyler Adams, 6-Yunus Musah (26-Josh Sargent, 72), 10-Christian Pulisic (captain), 20-Folarin Balogun (9-Ricardo Pepi, 41), 7-Gio Reyna
Subs: 18-Ethan Holbert, 25-Shawn Johnson, 2-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 12-Myles Robinson, 14-Luca De La Torre, 15-Jonny Cardoso, 16-Shaq Moore, 23-Christopher Lund, 24-Mark McKenzie.
Suspensions: 21-Tim Weah
Head Coach: Gregg Berhalter
Ur: 1- Sergio Roche, 8- Nahitan Nandez, 4- Ronald Araújo, 16- Matias Olivera, 17- Matias Viña (2- Jose Maria Jimenez, 72), 5- Manuel Ugarte (3- Sebastian Cáceres, 89), 15- Federico Valverde, 11- Facundo Pellistri, 7- Nicolás de la Cruz (6- Rodrigo Bentancur, 79), 20- Maximiliano Araújo, 19- Darwin Nunez (9- Luis Suárez, 89)
Substitutes: 14-Agustin Canobio, 21-Emiliano Martinez, 24-Lucas Olaza, 18-Bryan Rodriguez, 10-Giorgian de Arrascaeta, 12-Franco Israel, 23-Santiago Mele, 22-Nicolas Marichal, 26-Bryan Ocampo, 13-Gramo Varela.
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa
Statistical Overview: USA / URU
Number of shots: 8 / 12
Shots on goal: 3 / 4
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner kicks: 2 / 3
Fouls: 12 / 12
Offside: 1 / 0
Summary of fraudulent activity:
USA – Tyler Adams (Booked) 17′
USA – Chris Richards (Booked) 33
URU – Darwin Nunez (Caution) 45
board member:
Umpire: Kevin Ortega (PER)
Assistant Referee 1: Michel Arouet (PER)
Assistant Referee 2: Steven Atoche (PER)
Fourth Official: Augusto Menendez (PER)
Fifth Official: Jose Antero (BOL)
VAR: Carlos Orube (ECU)
AVAR: Brian Loaiza (ECU)