The United States men’s national team was eliminated from the 2024 Copa América after losing 1-0 to Uruguay on the final day of the group stage at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Gregg Berhalter’s team had a mountain to climb before kickoff, facing one of the tournament favorites. And that task became nearly impossible when Panama beat Bolivia 3-1 in the other Group C match.
The Jugo Mobile takes a look at how the USMNT’s tournament unfolded.
How the United States was eliminated from the 2024 Copa América
Berhalter’s men got off to a perfect start in the tournament, beating Bolivia 2-0 in their opening match.
But in the final group game, the United States found itself in a tough spot heading into its match against Uruguay after a surprising loss to Panama in its second Copa America group game.
The first half of that match against Panama was 45 minutes that will possibly go down in history as the most dramatic in the history of the Copa América.
The Americans thought they had taken the lead after five minutes when Weston McKennie headed home from a rebound, but Timothy Ream was offside with the free-kick and, after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was ruled out. Berhalter’s men suffered a major setback when Tim Weah was sent off for an off-the-ball incident, leaving them with 10 men.
Against all odds, Folarin Balogun put the tournament hosts ahead with his second goal in two games, but Panamanian Cesar Blackman soon leveled the score. Even with 10 men, the United States looked good and kept the game tight, but Jose Fajardo stunned the home crowd at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium with an 83rd-minute winner that secured the victory.
As a result, Berhalter’s team was given the following permutations to qualify: a win against Uruguay plus a draw with Panama or a loss to Bolivia (or overcoming Panama’s goal difference in the event of a win), or a draw plus a draw with Panama.
At halftime of Matchday 3, the United States was tied 0-0, but Panama held the lead against Bolivia, meaning only a win would allow the United States to advance to the knockout rounds.
News soon filtered into Arrowhead Stadium that Bolivia had tied the game in the 70th minute against Panama and the crowd erupted in chants: “USA! USA! USA!”
As Uruguay was about to take a free kick, Berhalter gestured to indicate that the score in the other match was 1-1. Seconds later, the United States conceded the goal, dealing a major blow to their hopes of qualifying.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding Uruguay’s goal as it appeared that there was an offside call in the play. The goal was reviewed by VAR but the goal stood and things got worse for the United States as Panama took the lead again against Bolivia.
That presented an incredibly difficult task as the USMNT needed two goals against Uruguay in the final 18 minutes to advance.
Panama then added a third and won its crucial clash with Bolivia and the United States could not achieve what would have been a miraculous comeback.
Schedule and format of the 2024 Copa America
The 2024 Copa América had 16 teams drawn into four groups of four teams each. The draw took place on September 11, Thursday, December 7, 2023, in Miami, Florida.
The competition began on June 20, 2024, with the opening group stage match in Atlanta, Georgia, between defending champions Argentina and playoff winners Canada. The group stage will run until July 2, with the top two finishers in each group advancing to the knockout stage, while the bottom two will be eliminated.
The knockout phase will begin on July 4 with the quarter-finals, with a knockout bracket that will be played to the end. The only exception will be a third-place match organised for the semi-final losers, which will be played the day before the final, on July 14.
| Round | dates |
| Group stage | June 20 – July 2, 2024 |
| Quarter finals | July 4-6, 2024 |
| Semi-finals | July 9-10, 2024 |
| Third place | July 13, 2024 |
| Final | July 14, 2024 |