Following Mexico, North and Central America’s soccer powerhouse, the United States, has been eliminated from the group stage of the Copa America on home soil.
The U.S. lost 0-1 to Uruguay in the final Group C match of the Copa America 2024 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., on Tuesday (June 2).
Matias Olivera (Napoli), who shared the Serie A title with Kim Min-jae (now Bayern Munich) in the 2022-2023 season with Napoli (Italy), scored the game-winning goal in the 21st minute.
Riding a three-game unbeaten streak (nine goals scored, one conceded), Uruguay advanced to the quarterfinals comfortably as the group’s top seed.
The United States, on the other hand, was eliminated from the group with the loss.
After defeating Bolivia 2-0 in their first game, the Americans lost 1-2 to Panama and then lost again to Uruguay to go 1-2-1.
In the end, Panama, who beat Bolivia 3-1 later in the day to earn their second win (one loss), beat the U.S. to finish second in the group and punch their ticket to the quarterfinals.
While the Copa America is traditionally a showcase for the best of South America, this year’s tournament is a celebration of the entire continent, with 10 South American nations and six North and Central American nations participating.
The first and second place finishers in each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will compete for the title in a single-elimination match.
The hosts, the United States (No. 11), have the highest FIFA ranking among the North American Football Confederation nations, but they’ve been outclassed by Panama (No. 43).
The U.S. lost to archrival Panama in the second round of the group stage.
After Timothy Weah (Juventus), son of Liberian soccer hero and former president George Weah, was sent off for punching a defender just 18 minutes into the game, the Americans were unable to overcome the numerical deficit and fell 1-2.
Mexico (No. 15), a North and Central American powerhouse alongside the U.S. the day before, was also knocked out of the tournament after falling behind Ecuador (No. 30) in the race for second place in the group. 메이저사이트