The 2024 Copa America in the United States is an American nightmare. One blow for the organizers is followed by another. And another. First there was the injury to Lionel Messi, who was unable to play in Argentina’s third match on Saturday against Peru, and who is still in doubt for Thursday’s quarter-final against Ecuador. On Sunday, Mexico’s elimination in the first round followed, with all that implies for the atmosphere in stadiums in a country without a football culture. And on Monday, as if that were not enough, a new misfortune arrived: the United States team itself was also eliminated in the initial phase and was booed by its fans.
The home team’s 1-0 defeat to Uruguay, which finished first in Group C and confirmed its great moment, sounds reasonable, but the failure of the United States (3 points) is due to the fact that it finished third behind the Celeste (9 points) and Panama (6), which simultaneously beat Bolivia 3-1 (0 points) on Tuesday and qualified for the quarterfinals.
The frustration of the organizers, who a priori had an accessible area, is undisguised, in contrast to the history written by the Panamanians. All the progress that the United States achieved outside the playing fields in recent years, with the hosting of major tournaments and the presence of Messi in the MLS, is not complemented by their national team, which took a big – giant – step backwards.
Marcelo Bielsa’s team’s goal was scored by Mathías Olivera 21 minutes into the second half. The Uruguayan defender appeared to be offside, but the VAR – in a very precise way, not without controversy – validated the 1-0. Uruguay, which won all three matches in the initial phase of the Copa América for the first time since 1935, will find out on Tuesday who will be the opponent in Colombia-Brazil, the qualifiers from Group D. The five-time world champions need a win to avoid La Celeste in the quarterfinals.
The feat of Panama
Panama, on the other hand, will play against the Colombians if they win or draw. Goals by José Fajardo, Eduardo Guerrero and César Velasco against Bolivia, which suffered its 15th consecutive defeat in the Copa América, sealed the local elimination. The Panama-Bolivia match was also historic because it was the first match of the Cup to be officiated by a female team of referees, led by the Brazilian Edina Alves Batista.
“It’s frustrating, I can’t find the words to describe what happened. I don’t want to talk about the referee either. We had a good start but they (Uruguay) have quality. Now it’s time to rest a little, regroup and hope for great things to come,” said Christian Pulisic, captain of the United States and player of Milan of Italy, resigned after the match.
At least for now, the kindness shown by the soccer authorities, both from CONMEBOL and FIFA, to the United States for the current Copa America and for the Club and National Team World Cups that it will organize in 2025 and 2006, does not seem to be a return of love. The local team was playing for a ticket to the quarterfinals and the public left several seats free in the Kansas stadium, a gigantic venue, with a capacity for 80,000 people. On top of that, the bad news came early from the east of the country, when Panama, in Orlando, took the lead against Bolivia and the United States was immediately forced to win in order not to be eliminated.
After their bitter display last Thursday, when they lost 2-1 to the Panamanians with a lackluster display of football but above all of spirit and attitude, the home team at least tried to put pressure on Uruguay from the start. It was their last bullet and they only managed to do so in a few minutes. Without Timothy Weah, suspended after his expulsion last week, the United States depended excessively on Pulisic, until Uruguay gradually took control of the night. Gregg Berhalter’s team has better players – many of them play in the main European leagues – for such a weak collective display in the Cup.
Uruguay, which was not technically qualified, played with the seriousness and intensity of Bielsa’s teams. When Federico Valverde, the Real Madrid midfielder, took charge of the ball, the United States was reduced to a minor team, second or third in the world. This time, La Celeste did not need Darwin Núñez, who did not score for the first time in the last seven games.
There was a moment, however, when the United States breathed again, when Bruno Miranda scored Bolivia’s 1-1 against Panama in Orlando. Then, with the score still close in Kansas, the home team temporarily regained second place, but the relief for the American team was short-lived: just three minutes later, Olivera scored to make it 1-0 for Uruguay and the United States once again fell to third place, this time for good. As if that weren’t enough, it wouldn’t take long for the Panamanians to regain the lead and then extend their lead to a final 3-1.
Mexico and the United States had not been eliminated in the first round of a tournament for 74 years, the 1950 World Cup. It was also the first time that Panama eliminated the Americans in a group stage. Surprisingly, of the three hosts of the 2026 World Cup, the only team to make it to the quarterfinals was Canada.
The 2024 Copa América is missing the best: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay will have to revalidate their favoritism to reach the title, while Venezuela has an open draw to reach the semifinals. But, in a certain way, the tournament also received a wound in its heart: soccer – its leadership – gave the United States more than the United States gave soccer.
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