Key events
Tonight’s officials are:
Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru)
Assistant referees: Michael Orue and Stephen Atoche (Peru)
Fourth referee: Augusto Menendez (Peru)
VAR: Carlos Orbe (Ecuador)
I’m taking the summer off, so I wasn’t eligible to get the call.
I’m already being asked who should replace Gregg Berhalter if the USA fail to advance and he is dismissed, which most of us believe would be the natural consequence. (If the USA win and fail to advance, maybe not – even a draw against a team as good as Uruguay in a meaningful competition could be enough.)
I’ll say JJ Redick.
Here’s the situation:
1. Uruguay, 6 pts., +7 GD (8-1)
2. USA, 3 pts., +1 GD (3-2)
3. Panama, 3 pts., -1 GD (3-4)
4. Bolivia, 0 pts., -7 GD (0-7)
Tiebreakers are, as they usually are in such things, goal difference followed by goals scored followed by head-to-head points followed by head-to-head goal difference followed by head-to-head goals scored followed by fewest red cards followed by fewest yellow cards followed by drawing of lots.
If it comes to the last one, I like the USA’s chances.
Essentially, whatever Panama does, the USA must match.
– If Panama loses, then the USA can advance with a loss as long as they don’t give up a ton of goals. (Three teams would be tied with 3 points each.)
– If Panama draws, the USA will advance with a draw. (Both teams would have 4 points, and their goal differences would remain as they are.)
– If Panama wins, the USA needs a win, and they’ll need to be careful with goal difference.
So the USA could win 1-0 tonight and still get bounced out if Panama wins 3-0.
But the USA has its destiny in its own hands. Just win by enough goals to finish ahead of Uruguay – 4-0 would do it.
One person you will NOT see on the sideline tonight is Marcelo Bielsa, the well-traveled Argentine manager who is in charge of the Uruguay team. He is suspended because he brought his team out late for the second half, which is becoming a bit of a trend these days.
Quick Laws of the Game change that would solve that problem – the referee simply drops the ball when 15 minutes have passed, and if only one team is on the field, so be it.
Uruguay lineup
Uruguay’s starting XI is unchanged from the side that ran Bolivia off the field 5-0.
1-Rochet; 17-Viña, 16-M. Olivera, 4-R. Araujo, 8-Nandez; 15-Valverde, 5-Ugarte; 20-M. Araujo, 7-de la Cruz, 11-Pellistri; 19-Nuñez
If you’re a devoted Premier League follower, you’ll recognize the last two names from Manchester United and Liverpool. Valverde, valued at a staggering 120m Euros at transfermarkt, is at Real Madrid. Ronald Araujo is at Barcelona.
Uruguay’s bench includes two players in Major League Soccer – young forward Cristian Olivera (Los Angeles) and some guy named Luis Suarez (Inter Messi, er, Miami).
USA lineup
With Timothy Weah suspended for his costly act of petulance against Panama, Yunus Musah comes into the starting lineup to reunite the “MMA” midfield (Musah, McKennie, Adams) while Gio Reyna scoots up to the front line. Everything else is the same, including the goalkeeper spot, where Matt Turner has recovered well enough to play again.
1-Turner; 5-A. Robinson, 13-Ream, 3-Richards, 22-Scally; 4-Adams, 6-Musah, 8-McKennie; 10-Pulisic, 20-Balogun, 7-Reyna
Preamble
Welcome to the most pivotal game the US men have played in nearly seven years.
In October 2017 … no, let’s not talk about that. We all know what happened. If not, Google “Couva” and a bunch of swear words.
The last World Cup qualifying cycle was a bit easier. The US weren’t in significant danger on the last matchday.
Tonight in Kansas City, the USA may well be playing for their coach’s future and for their own reputation. This is, we’re so often told, a golden generation of US players. They all ply their trade with glittering teams in Europe – Milan, Juventus, Monaco … um … PSV? Fulham? Cardiff City?
Wait – this is the USA’s golden generation?
Maybe, maybe not. But expectations have been high for a while now.
The expectation in this Copa America on home soil was certainly a date in the knockout rounds. But now that path goes through a very good Uruguay team – unless Bolivia suddenly figure out the sport and get a result against Panama.
To invoke the great American philosopher Robert Johnson: We’re going down to the crossroads. Fall down on our knees? Flag a ride? We’ll find out.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Tom Dart of Gregg Berhalter at a crossroads:
It may seem harsh that Gregg Berhalter’s job as USMNT head coach is in acute jeopardy because one of his players decided to smack an opponent in the head.
Then again, in the US’s last big tournament test before it co-hosts the 2026 World Cup, a coach expected to reach at least the quarter-finals is staring at a group-stage exit in the Copa América, barring what seems an improbable triumph against one of the favorites, Uruguay, in Kansas City on Monday.
Nice guy, Berhalter. Popular with players, respectful to the media, hard-working, thoughtful, sincere and caring. But the core issue since the round of 16 exit to the Netherlands at Qatar 2022 World Cup is ruthless in its clarity and simplicity: is the man who admirably resuscitated the program and nurtured a gifted group of youngsters towards maturity after the failure to reach the 2018 World Cup also the right man to take the US to the next level? Will he do better in 2026, the biggest single opportunity to grow the sport in the US since 1994?
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