US men’s soccer team eliminated from Copa America

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gregg Berhalter gave a one-word answer after the United States was eliminated from the Copa America with a loss to Uruguay when asked if he was the right man to lead the Americans to the 2026 World Cup.

“Yes,” said Berhalter.

There will undoubtedly be many more people who will have more to say about his future with the national team.

After a disastrous loss to Panama left the U.S. in a tight spot, Berhalter’s lineup of European club players created few chances against Uruguay. And when Mathías Olivera found the net for a dubious second-half goal, La Celeste walked out of Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night with a 1-0 victory, leaving the Americans wondering how it all went so wrong.

“We’re all going to evaluate the whole tournament and see where we fell short,” Berhalter said. “Obviously the Panama game hurt us, put us behind the 8-ball, and I think collectively — the staff, the players, the athletic department — we have to look at where we can improve. How do we get better? We know they’re a talented team, they have a lot of potential, and we didn’t show that.”

Berhalter and the US hoped to show that the team had made progress since their elimination in the round of 16 against the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup.

Instead, the US only beat bottom-ranked Bolivia 2-0 and were defeated 2-1 by the Panamanians.

“We had a good start and brought a lot of energy, but at the end of the day there just wasn’t enough quality,” said US captain Christian Pulisic. “I felt like we gave it everything, but we just couldn’t score.”

The only goal came in the 66th minute on Monday night when Nicolas De La Cruz fired a free kick into the U.S. goal. Matt Turner parried a header from Ronald Araújo that deflected past defender Tim Ream, but the rebound went straight to Olivera, who tapped the ball in with his left leg.

Olivera appeared to be offside on the initial header, but after a video review the goal was allowed.

Three minutes before Uruguay scored, the US was able to break through.

Bruno Miranda had evened the score for Bolivia against Panama in a match that started simultaneously in Orlando, Florida, meaning the U.S. needed only a draw. But Panama won 3-1 to claim second place in Group C behind Uruguay, and the U.S. was knocked out of the group stage for the first time in 20 continental and world tournaments played on home soil.

“This is still a young team. Still a lot of potential. But potential doesn’t really matter if you go out there and you don’t get the job done,” defender Antonee Robinson said. “Everyone has to try to step up, myself included.”

Berhalter was rehired in June 2023 and given a contract through the upcoming World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico. But despite a lineup that included Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, the U.S. failed to even match their last Copa America appearance, when they lost to Argentina in the 2016 semifinals.

During the second half Monday night, the home crowd of 55,460 in a not-quite-capacity Arrowhead Stadium began chanting, “Fire Gregg.”

The US will play friendlies against Canada and New Zealand in September.

“It wasn’t just Copa America. It’s learning from these high-level games that we play before the tournament,” Berhalter said, “and the collective realization that the margins are so small and there’s very little that separates these teams.”

Uruguay played without coach Marcelo Bielsa, who was suspended for sending his team out late in the second half of the first two games. Diego Reyes and Pablo Quiroga were in charge on a mild but humid night in Kansas City.

Berhalter and the Americans knew how dire their situation was – Pulisic at one point said they had to play “the best game of their lives” to advance – and they looked like a team with nothing to lose for much of the first half.

It was a match with a lot of physical play and questionable decisions.

Folarin Balogun, who had already scored two goals in the tournament, was subjected to several challenges. He was forced to call for help after colliding with Uruguayan goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, and was then left rolling on the pitch after Araújo’s challenge later in the half. Balogun was eventually sent off with a hip pointer, with Ricardo Pepi taking his place.

Uruguay lost Maximiliano Araújo earlier in the half after a terrifying collision with Ream in the US goal. He had to be carried off the field on a stretcher, but was able to move his arms before entering the tunnel.

Amid the chaos was 32-year-old Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega, whose several questionable calls hurt the U.S.

The first came when Ortega started to show a yellow card and stop play, then let it continue — still holding the card — as Uruguay nearly scored on an attack. The second came when the US had a clear advantage after a handball on Uruguay, but the Peruvian referee eventually blew his whistle and called play back for a free kick.

“This referee was terrible,” Robinson said. “I’ve never seen a referee, you know, let a quick free kick go when he had a yellow card in his hand. And it’s literally embarrassing. And I hope something happens to him.”

Uruguay pressed harder midway through the second half, sending the Americans into desperation mode after the goal. And while the U.S. had a few good runs and a few good chances in the box, a team with such high expectations couldn’t score the two goals it needed — or even one.

“The U.S. is a very strong team, but if you push us to play hard, we can do it,” Uruguay’s Manuel Ugarte said. “And we can also play beautiful (attractive) football. We adapt to the circumstances of the game.”