Uruguay defeated the USA 1-0 tonight at Arrowhead Stadium, ending the USMNT’s Copa America 2024 campaign when it had barely just begun.
Heading into the Group C finale at Copa America 2024, the USMNT faced their toughest challenge yet against the unbeaten Uruguay. The Stars and Stripes are without Tim Weah, who was sent off against Panama and suspended for the USA’s next two matches. In his absence, Gregg Berhalter gave Yunus Musah his first start of the tournament, and moved Gio Reyna up on the right wing.
How the game unfolded
The USA came out with high intensity as they took the game right to Uruguay, looking like a team determined to get on the scoresheet early. The crowd at Arrowhead Stadium urged the home side on as the Stars and Stripes dominated possession in the opening 20 minutes, something no other side has been able to do this tournament against La Celeste.
The first half took a scary turn when Tim Ream collided with Maximiliano Araujo, resulting in a harsh fall for the Uruguayan as his head collided with the ground. Araujo was stretched off the pitch in the 27th minute, and just 15 minutes later, Folarin Balogun was forced to come off due to injury. The rest of the first half was disjointed as referee Kevin Ortega struggled to get a handle on match’s physicality. Both teams retreated to their respective locker rooms with just one shot on target between the two of them.
Uruguay came out of halftime determined to slow the game down and maintain possession, taking away the USA’s rhythm. La Celeste’s half-chances turned into dangerous attempts that eventually resulted in the match’s opening goal from Mathias Olivera in the 66th minute. Olivera looked to be offsides when Ronald Araujo initially headed the ball, but VAR allowed the goal to stand.
The controversy marred the rest of the game, but despite the call, the USA failed to score a goal they would have needed even if they kept a clean sheet. The USMNT only managed three shots on target, and even with fresh legs in the second half, there were no threatening goalscoring opportunities that forced Rochet to make anything but comfortable saves. Haji Wright had the best chance in the dying minutes of the match, but the substitute forced a weak shot intro traffic from 12 yards out when Ricardo Pepi was wide open to his right.
GK: Matt Turner – 5/10 – Turner got the start tonight despite the leg injury he suffered…
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