Uruguay and Panama escape group as the U.S. threw away golden opportunity at tournament on home soil
In the end, the U.S. men’s national team simply wasn’t good enough. There’s plenty of blame to pass around, but don’t let that distract you from that first sentence.
Regardless of the reasons why it happened, how it happened and who caused it to happen, the USMNT is out of the Copa America, and it’s their own fault.
The Copa America run died at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night. It ended thanks to a 1-0 Uruguay win which, paired with Panama’s 3-1 win over Bolivia, sealed the USMNT’s fate. Realistically, it was sealed just a bit in Atlanta on Thursday, when this chaos really began. The U.S. dug themselves into a whole they couldn’t play their way out of and making it worse is the fact that they never came particularly close.
Monday night was pure chaos from the opening whistle. Referee Kevin Ortega was simply horrific. Tackles flew in everywhere, frustration built on both sides and, for a while there, it was bedlam in Kansas City.
But, in the midst of that chaos, the U.S. never broke through. Uruguay did, of course, albeit controversially as Mathias Olivera’s goal was ruled onside. The U.S. should have no complaints. In the end, they mustered just a few shots and no clear-cut chances.
That, just as much as bad refereeing, was the cause of their undoing. The U.S. stared down adversity and blinked, showing that this team and this program may not have come as far as even they had believed. This Copa America was a failure, and it was the USMNT’s own doing.
U.S. Soccer will have to reckon with that fact in the coming days and weeks. Coach Gregg Berhalter’s job is on the line. These players will have to take a long look in the mirror while reassessing their “Golden Generation” label. From top to bottom, questions will have to be answered. This was a failure that falls on just about everyone involved. It wasn’t good enough, and everyone knows it.
GOAL rates the USMNT’s players from Arrowhead Stadium.
Source link : https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/usmnt-player-ratings-uruguay-gregg-berhalter-christian-pulisic-copa-america/blt99785589bec5c94d
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Publish date : 2024-07-02 03:00:00
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