But USA coach Gregg Berhalter’s side never looked like doing enough to seriously threaten a well-drilled Uruguay who advance to the last eight as group winners
Uruguay’s Mathias Olivera (left) celebrates with teammates after scoring against USA. Pic/AFP
The United States crashed out of the Copa America on Monday after a 0-1 defeat to Uruguay, as Panama sealed their place in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Bolivia.
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The tournament hosts suffered an upset 1-2 defeat to Panama last week and went into Monday’s final Group C game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City needing to match or better Panama’s result against Bolivia to advance.
But USA coach Gregg Berhalter’s side never looked like doing enough to seriously threaten a well-drilled Uruguay who advance to the last eight as group winners.
Hopes of a great escape for Berhalter’s men faded inside the first 30 minutes as news filtered through that Panama had taken a 1-0 lead against Bolivia in Orlando.
USA hopes were revived early in the second half after Bolivia equalised, leaving the hosts on course for qualification, provided they continued to hold Uruguay. Yet the US optimism was punctured just moments later when Uruguay took the lead in controversial circumstances through Mathias Olivera on 66 minutes.
“Just looking at the faces of the staff and the players, we’re bitterly disappointed with the results,” Berhalter said.
USA captain Christian Pulisic blamed a lack of attacking quality. “We had a good start and brought a lot of energy, but just didn’t have enough quality,” he said. “We just couldn’t find a solution.”
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