The United States men’s national team was eliminated from the Copa América on home soil at the group stage on Monday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, following a 1-0 loss to Uruguay.
After a lengthy review by the video assistant referee for offside and widespread protests from the United States after the goal was awarded, seemingly by the narrowest of margins, Mathías Olivera scored the game-winning goal for Uruguay in the 66th minute.
Nonetheless, as the other Group C championship match saw Panama defeat Bolívia 3-1, a victory would have been necessary for the United States to move up from second-place Uruguay to third place.
The United States entered the match against one of the pre-tournament favourites knowing it had to match or improve Panama’s result in its game against Bolivia, one of the tournament’s weakest sides, following a shocking 2-1 loss to Panama in its previous game.
Rather, Panama advances to the quarterfinals, and the USMNT has been eliminated from the senior men’s tournament it hosted at the group stage for the first time ever.
The USMNT advanced to the semifinals of the last Copa América, which was held in the United States.
Additionally, the U.S. lost attacker Folarin Balogun to injury after a brutal first half, substituting Ricardo Pepi.
Maximiliano Araújo, a winger for Uruguay, was also hurt in the first half and had to be carried out after appearing to be knocked out momentarily.
Referee Kevin Ortega, a 32-year-old Peruvian, was in the heart of the turmoil, making multiple dubious calls that were detrimental to the United States.
First, as Uruguay almost scored on an attack, Ortega started to pull a yellow card and stop play. However, he later let play to continue while still holding the card. The second occurred after Uruguay committed a handball, giving the United States an obvious advantage, but the referee ultimately blew his whistle and called a free kick.
Midway through the second half, Uruguay increased their pressure and took the lead when Nicolas de la Cruz struck a free kick in front of the American goal.
Ronald Araújo outjumped defender Tim Ream with a header that Matt Turner parried, but Olivera was the one who tapped the ball in with his left foot after it rebounded.
After Olivera’s goal, the Americans were at the point of desperation. A team with such high hopes was unable to find the two goals it needed, or even one, even though the U.S. had a few strong runs and decent boxing opportunities.
The United States finished third in the group with three points because they had trouble creating clear scoring opportunities throughout the game.
The largest test for the United States before it hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada in 2026 was the Copa América.
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