Herculez Gomez explains the lack of success from the United States under Gregg Berhalter and why he might stay in charge despite another setback. (1:13)
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The United States were eliminated from Copa America after a 1-0 loss to Uruguay at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday.
With Panama defeating Bolívia 3-1 in the group’s other match, the U.S. needed a win to advance, but Mathías Olivera’s 66th-minute goal on a set piece was allowed to stand despite coming very close to being offside, and that made the difference. The U.S. generated only eight shot attempts worth 0.41 xG, and keeper Sergio Rochet saved all four that were put on goal.
It was a physical match from the start, and despite needing only a draw to advance, Uruguay both deployed its regular starting line-up and was more than happy to participate in the physicality. The first half produced 14 fouls and two injury substitutions — Uruguay’s Maximiliano Araújo in the 27th minute and the USA’s Folarin Balogun in the 41st — before the game opened up a bit in the second.
In a short amount of time, the U.S. went from looking like they would advance thanks to a tying goal in the Panama-Bolivia match (they needed to equal or surpass Panama’s result) to falling behind due to Olivera’s strike. Panama quickly put its match away, and that was that.
Gregg Berhalter, 5 — His hands were tied due to Timothy Weah’s red card ban, and he chose to simply move Giovanni Reyna from the center of the park to the left wing and start Yunus Musah in the midfield. Neither Reyna nor Musah performed brilliantly and, after bringing Ricardo Pepi in for an injured Balogun, Berhalter waited until the 72nd minute to make another change. It was always going to be difficult to find answers in this one, but he still didn’t find anything close.
GK Matt Turner, 6 — After suffering a leg injury against Panama, Turner’s status was a huge story coming into the game. While his ball distribution was an issue at times, he was perfectly fine in terms of shot stopping and wasn’t at much fault on Uruguay’s goal.
DF Antonee Robinson, 6 — After a couple of dangerous early runs, Robinson struggled to get involved in attack and suffered quite a few frustrating giveaways. Often a ball recovery machine for both Fulham and the USMNT, he had only three recoveries on Monday.
DF Chris Richards, 6 — Richards suffered some ball distribution issues in recent matches, but he was mostly fine in this regard, and his 11 defensive interventions were tied for the most on the team.
DF Tim Ream, 7 — Safe and steady in the first half, put out a couple of potential fires when play opened up in the second and easily led the team with 21 combined progressive passes and carries.
DF Joe Scally, 6 — The U.S. leaned heavily on attacking down the right, and Scally had the team’s most touches in the first 45 minutes. He suffered a hard foul late in the first half, however, and his contributions were limited after the break.
MF Tyler Adams, 7 — Despite playing only 45 minutes in each of the USA’s first two matches, and despite an early yellow card, Adams played the full 90 minutes, tied for the team lead with 11 defensive interventions and helped to trigger some promising vertical attacks in the first half.
MF Yunus Musah, 5 — In his first start of the tournament, Musah barely touched the ball and was subbed out for an attacker in the 72nd minute.
MF Weston McKennie, 6 — The U.S. had a strong early presence in midfield, winning a number of loose balls and forcing turnovers. He had a role to play in that, but he struggled to play much of a role later in the match and finished with just a 69% pass completion rate (18-for-26) and eight combined progressive passes and carries.
FW Giovanni Reyna, 5 — A very mixed bag for the 21-year-old. Playing in a new position due to Weah’s suspension, Reyna struggled to get into the match in the first half, with the U.S. building so much through the right. His attacking contributions improved in the second half, and he produced two chances created, but he was also responsible for a sloppy and unnecessary foul that resulted in the goal-scoring free kick.
FW Christian Pulisic, 6 — So much of the attacking play went through Pulisic, and he made plenty of smart runs. His touch betrayed him, though. He completed only 15 of 25 passes, and none of his three shot attempts (combined xG: 0.14) produced much danger.
FW Folarin Balogun, 6 — Was playing a great all-around game, making solid runs and pressing well, before the hard collision with Rochet in the 28th minute. It eventually led to his substitution.
FW Ricardo Pepi (49 minutes), 6 — In a substitute role in the first two matches, Pepi managed seven shot attempts in 43 minutes. He managed none in 49 minutes on Monday night, though he did complete 15 of 16 passes with two chances created.
FW Josh Sargent (18 minutes), NR — Completed just two of four passes with one shot attempt and one foul drawn.
FW Haji Wright (11 minutes), NR — He didn’t get much of an opportunity to make a difference, but he did have one of his team’s eight shot attempts.
FW Malik Tillman (1 minute + stoppage time), NR — He was on just long enough to complete two passes.