A damaging loss to Panama in the second group match of the Copa América 2024 has left the United States in a desperate situation.
Instead of securing a spot in the knockout stages in Atlanta, which they could have done with a win, the 2-1 loss leaves them essentially needing a win against Uruguay to advance to the quarterfinals. A draw could allow the U.S. to qualify, but only if Panama drops points against Bolivia, an outcome few would expect.
The United States hoped to show growth this summer, knowing that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in its own country in two years. Coach Gregg Berhalter has made it clear that his goal is to put himself in the best position to play well in that competition, so a positive performance this summer would go a long way toward achieving that.
Instead, they’re on the brink of elimination much sooner than expected, and the USMNT players know what’s at stake to stay alive in the Copa America.
The last time the United States was eliminated in the group stage of the Copa América
The United States has been invited to participate in the Copa América four times previously.
While they have reached the semi-finals twice, finishing fourth on both occasions, they have also been eliminated at the group stage twice before, most recently in 2007 when they finished bottom of Group C behind Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia after being beaten in all three games.
| Year | Host | US result | WDL |
| 1993 | Ecuador | Group stage | 0-1-2 |
| nineteen ninety five | Uruguay | 4th place | 2-1-3 |
| 2007 | Venezuela | Group stage | 0-0-3 |
| 2016 | USA | 4th place | 3-0-3 |
The United States will need to play “the game of our lives” to beat Uruguay
The American players already know where they stand against Uruguay and know they will likely need to win to advance. With Panama expected to defeat Bolivia in its final match, the United States would need to pick up three points against Uruguay and also maintain its goal difference advantage.
Christian Pulisic has played big games in his career before, winning a Champions League with Chelsea, so he was not affected by the situation.
“I don’t feel pressure about that,” Pulisic said. “As in all games, if what we need is to win against Uruguay, then that is what we have to do. We are privileged to be in this position and have the opportunity to represent our country. I feel lucky to be able to participate in the games like that, so I’m excited.
“We have to go represent our country with passion and pride, and we have to go play the best game of our lives. And that’s all, if we want to go win and continue in this competition.”
Asked if it now feels like they’re in the knockout round, Pulisic thought for a moment, nodded and said: “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
When asked about the challenge for the #USMNT to avoid removal in #America CupChristian Pulisic said they will need to play “the game of our lives” against Uruguay.
They probably need to win. Does it feel like a knockout match?
“…yeah, I guess you could say that.” pic.twitter.com/QYaaj2qURM
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) June 28, 2024
Veteran center Tim Ream felt similarly. When asked what the big picture looks like going forward, he explained it in simple terms. “The big picture is we have to win,” Ream said. “We know a win is pretty much a guarantee of going through, and that’s our mindset. We can’t rely on other results, we have to rely on ourselves to get a win and that’s it. We know where we are, we know what we have to do and we’re going to go out and try to do it.”
Ream believes they can draw on their experience from a similar situation against Iran at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a match in which the United States also had to get a positive result to advance to the knockout stage.
“Yeah, I think it’s a good learning experience,” Ream said. “It’s a must-win game, against a very different opponent, but basically it’s, like we said then, a knockout game played one round earlier, one game earlier. We can look at that and look at the effort we put in to get a result and move on.”
