Ratings for players like Berhalter and the USMNT are coming out of Copa America 2024

Uruguay defeated the USA 1-0 tonight at Arrowhead Stadium, ending the USMNT’s Copa America 2024 campaign in its infancy.

Heading into the Copa America 2024 Group C final, the USMNT faced their toughest challenge yet against undefeated Uruguay. The Stars and Stripes are missing Tim Weah who was sent off against Panama and suspended for the next two games for the USA. In his absence, Gregg Berhalter handed Yunus Musah his first start of the tournament, and promoted Gio Reyna on the right wing.

How the game happened

The USA came out with a lot of energy as they went directly to Uruguay, looking like a team determined to get points early. The crowd at Arrowhead Stadium cheered for the home team as the Stars and Stripes won the game in the first 20 minutes, something no other team has been able to do against La Celeste.

The first half took a scary turn when Tim Ream collided with Maximiliano Araujo, resulting in the Uruguayan falling violently when his head hit the ground. Araujo was stretchered off the field in the 27th minute, and after 15 minutes, Folarin Balogun was forced off due to injury. The rest of the first half was disjointed as referee Kevin Ortega struggled to get a handle on the game. Both teams returned to their separate locker rooms with only one shot going between them.

Uruguay came out of the break determined to slow down the game and hold the ball, taking away the USA’s rhythm. Creating chances for La Celeste was a dangerous effort that ended up creating the opening goal of the match by Mathias Olivera in the 66th minute. Olivera was considered offside when Ronald Araujo headed the ball in early, but VAR allowed the goal to stand.

This tussle disrupted the game, but even though it was called, the USA failed to score the goal they needed to keep a clean sheet. The USMNT managed three shots on target, and even with fresh legs in the second half, no threatening scoring chances forced Rochet to make anything but a comfortable save. Haji Wright had the best chance in the dying minutes of the game, but the substitute forced a weak shot from 12 yards when Ricardo Pepi was wide open on his right.

GK: Matt Turner – 5/10 – Turner started tonight despite the leg injury he picked up against Panama, but the goalkeeper still looked out of sorts, taking errant goal kicks and giving the ball away early under pressure. Turner also gave up a bad rebound that led to Uruguay’s victory.

RB: Joe Scally – 5/10 – Sally had a rough first half. The right back was poor with the ball at his feet and was relying on the referee’s whistle to get him out of bad situations. Sally was injured just before halftime, but played through the pain despite requiring treatment in both halves.

CB: Chris Richards – 5/10 – In the third consecutive game of the Copa America, Richards first moved back and passed to Turner which was almost used by Uruguay. The centre-back was booked in the 33rd minute for a foul on de la Cruz as a last-ditch effort to stop Uruguay from attacking.

CB: Tim Ream – 6/10 – Ream saved Turner and the USA from scoring in the first half after he deflected a shot in front of an empty net following a confusing referee’s decision to allow Uruguay a quick free kick that scared Chris Richards.

LB: Antonee Robinson – 6/10 – Robinson wasn’t as active in the USA’s attack tonight as he has been in the first two games of the tournament, but the left-back contributed defensively, always directing Uruguay’s attacks well to stop their forwards.

CM: Weston McKennie – 5/10 – McKennie did a lot of work defensively tonight to help pressure Uruguay’s backline, but the midfielder was not effective enough in attack in a game his side should have won.

CM: Tyler Adams – 6/10 – Adams was beaten by the pace of Darwin Nunez early on, but the midfielder bounced back and was a big reason why Uruguay could not continue to play the ball in the first half. Adams looked more like himself as the game wore on, popping up everywhere his team needed him to stop Uruguay’s chances.

CM: Yunus Musah – 6/10 – Musah’s debut at Copa America 2024 was full of clean touches that helped the USA play without pressure. The midfielder also used his speed to join the attack when opportunities arose.

RW: Gio Reyna – 6/10 – Reyna was the USA’s best player in the first half despite making his tournament debut on the right side. He did a great job escaping pressure and helped out almost all of USA’s best chances, but to no avail.

ST: Folarin Balogun – 5/10 – Balogun was forced to leave in the 41st minute after he injured his hip.

LW: Christian Pulisic – 6/10 – Pulisic also had a great delivery tonight and several electric runs, carving out his own space on the left wing. Without Weah and Balogun, however, the captain would not have been able to kill him in the final third.

Your substitute

Ricardo Pepi – 6/10 – Pepi came on in the 41st minute for the injured Balogun, and although the striker was no match for Balogun in the final third, Pepi put himself in a good position that could have led to dangerous chances for his teammates.

Josh Sargent – 5/10 – Sargent came on in the 72nd minute as the USA desperately needed a goal. The substitute won the USA a corner in the 83rd minute, but missed.

Haji Wright – 4/10 – Like Sargent, Wright entered the dying minutes of the game as an additional attack for the USA. Wright beat a wonderful ball past Robinson in the 84th minute with a hard touch inside the box, then opted to shoot in traffic when Pepi was unmarked on his right a few minutes later.

Malik Tillman – N/A – Tillman came on in the 90th minute.

The manager

Gregg Berhalter – 5/10 – Berhalter will have to answer for the USA’s poor performance in the Copa America this summer. Exiting the tournament in the group stage and allowing Panama to advance to the USMNT is an unacceptable result, especially when the Stars and Stripes are playing on home soil.

When it mattered most, the USA didn’t come tonight in a must-win game, and Berhalter may have paid for his team’s disappointing campaign with his performance.