The unthinkable has happened for the U.S. men’s national team: its Copa América has ended at the group stage.
Needing a win against Uruguay to advance, the USMNT instead fell 1-0 in a brutal, bruising affair at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Mathías Olivera scored the game’s only goal in the 66th minute, putting home a rebound on a play where the Uruguay defender looked to clearly be offside. Replays, however, showed that he may have just been on.
Regardless, the USMNT needed to score to advance, and it didn’t. Panama’s 3-1 win over Bolivia in the group’s other game clinched a knockout-round berth for Los Canaleros.
In a group with Bolivia, Panama, and Uruguay, Gregg Berhalter’s side got just three points and failed to advance. That is an unmitigated failure, and Berhalter may pay with his job.
Here are three thoughts on Monday’s night’s defeat to Uruguay.
The referee was bad — but it's no excuse
We don’t love talking about referees here, but special mention must be given for the unique awfulness that was Kevin Ortega’s performance on Monday.
The Peruvian official had something of a nightmare, which began in the first half when Tyler Adams was shown a yellow card for … being stepped on by Olivera.
But the true coup de grâce was an unprecedented move in the first half that started with a justified yellow card for U.S. defender Chris Richards. But things went haywire from there.
Uruguay attempted a quick restart, which Ortega inexplicably allowed despite being in the process of yellow-carding Richards. The sequence would have resulted in a goal were it not for Tim Ream’s clearance.
The biggest talking point in the game would come from Olivera’s winner. The Uruguay defender appeared clearly offside, but his goal was given as replays showed an angle where Richards’ foot was narrowly keeping him on.
That call wasn’t on Ortega, but it will nevertheless rankle with the USMNT after a game filled with questionable refereeing decisions.
But regardless of any refereeing decisions, the USMNT at least needed to score in this game to advance. It didn’t. It may be cathartic, even justified, to complain about the refereeing in this game. But it’s not why the USMNT’s summer is over early.
An unacceptable result
We’ll have to wait and see if Berhalter stays on as head coach, but failure to reach the knockout stage of this tournament is a massive black mark on his resume.
There was optimism coming out of the 2022 World Cup, as a young group of players reached the knockout stage. That group is a year and a half older now, and Berhalter was unable to guide them out of an easier group than it faced in Qatar.
Berhalter’s second tenure has, in truth, been filled with disappointments: a 3-1 loss to Germany, a 2-1 defeat at Trinidad and Tobago, an extra-time win over Jamaica in the Nations League that required a miraculous last-second own goal, a beatdown against Colombia, and — most significantly — Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Panama.
A Berhalter defender could say that without Tim Weah’s inexplicable red card against Panama, the U.S. would probably be in the knockout round right now.
But that rings hollow for a team that wants to “change soccer in America forever,” one filled with players in their prime at top European clubs.
Those players are largely responsible for Berhalter being given a second term, which is now looking like an ill-advised move by the team and U.S. Soccer alike.
Clint Dempsey has seen plenty of USMNT teams come and go. With the World Cup two years away, he isn’t mincing words.
“This is our golden generation,” Dempsey said on FS1 after the game. “Looks like we’re wasting it.”
What now?
Regardless of whether Berhalter stays or goes, crashing out of this tournament at the group stage is a huge blow for a team that doesn’t have a whole lot on its agenda for a while.
With no World Cup qualifying, there will be a real lack of high-intensity games for the USMNT to play between now and kickoff of the 2026 World Cup.
Advancing at the Copa América would have given this group the chance to play high-stakes games against world-class teams. Now, it will have to wait two more years to experience that — if it does at all.
Friendlies against lower-tier opponents and the 2025 Gold Cup is all that appears to be on the horizon now for the next year. With much of Europe and South America’s best tied up with Nations League and World Cup qualification, even scheduling a strong opponent for a friendly will be challenging.
It’s hardly an ideal preparation for a team looking to make history and galvanize the country on home soil in 2026.
