It’s all or nothing for the host nation as the United States takes on Uruguay in their final group match of the 2024 Copa América.
By Jon Arnold
The U.S. needs a win to finish in second place and advance to the knockout stage – and there is a scenario where even that isn’t enough for the Americans to go through.
After a 2-1 defeat to Panama in the second group game, the U.S. needs not only to win but also for Panama not to make up the goal difference with a big win over Bolivia in the other game. It won’t be easy against an Uruguay team that appears to be one of the favourites to life the trophy, and there is a huge amount of speculation in the U.S. that if the Americans aren’t able to advance from the group, that they will part ways with manager Gregg Berhalter.
The manager insists any pressure coming from fans and others outside the program can’t reach the same level of expectation he already holds himself to, but it may be increasingly difficult to block out the external noise. The hope from fans was that the U.S. would – at minimum – advance from the group, but a win against Uruguay won’t come easily.
The U.S. will have to get a victory without Tim Weah, who was sent off in the first half of the loss to Panama and in addition to being suspended for Monday’s match, he also would miss a potential quarter-final contest after CONMEBOL’s disciplinary committee handed down an extra match ban for the offence. He could be replaced by Coventry City’s Haji Wright or Leeds United’s Brenden Aaronson.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner came out at halftime in the Panama contest after a collision and has been “limited” in training, Berhalter said Sunday. If the No. 1 can’t start, Ethan Horvath will again take his place.
Uruguay won’t be required to rest any players – though with the South Americans all but qualified for the quarterfinals there likely will be some rotation in the squad – but it won’t have manager Marcelo Bielsa on the bench. After his team returned to the field from halftime late in both of the first two contests, the governing body added Bielsa to a list of suspended coaches that also included Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni and Chile boss Ricardo Gareca.
Bielsa will choose the lineup and, despite the big wins in the first two matches, he has hinted that he won’t play an alternate squad. That would mean the Americans’ back line would need to try to detain forward Darwin Núñez and a Uruguay attack that so far has scored eight goals in two contests and also thumped Mexico 4-0 in a pre-tournament friendly.
No matter where it’s coming from, the pressure is on the U.S. Will they be the first host nation to crash out of the group stage of the Copa América in decades, or will it find a way to get through?
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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