Selfish, unnecessary, immature and worst of all, consequential. An 18th minute arm to the face of Panama’s Roderick Miller by United States forward Tim Weah sent the Juventus star off the Mercedes-Benz Stadium pitch with a lot of game left to be played.
That card created a golden opportunity for Panama, and it capitalized.
A very imperfect match for both squads included an abundance of fouls and a handful of others that should’ve been called. As previously mentioned, the U.S. played with 10 men for just over three quarters of the match, while Panama played with 10 men for around the last 10 minutes.
As stated in my last column about USMNT, the United States owns CONCACAF, Panama included. Before Thursday's match, the U.S. boasted a record of 17 wins, six draws and two losses all-time against Panama.
What makes Thursday’s result so gut-wrenching is with 11 men, the U.S. leaves Atlanta with 3 points and is surely onto the quarterfinals of Copa America.
But much to the dismay of all Americans who have been told this is an opportune time to be thrilled about this team, the selfishness of Weah takes an attacker off the field. It’s hard to even criticize head coach Gregg Berhalter for the loss, but he may be the fall guy.
Will Berhalter be the scapegoat for the failure of this tournament caused by Weah? With the previous backlash and other inefficiencies that Berhalter presented, it’s likely.
Fox’s Alexi Lalas said on The State of The Union podcast immediately following the Copa America games Thursday in defense of Weah, he is the one who puts on the kit, laces up the boots and scores the goals at home and abroad. These are the players, and that's something no coach can change from just one red card.
After all the chaos that was Thursday, the U.S. now needs a victory and help to get through.
Who is standing in the Americans’ way of advancing? 15-time champions Uruguay at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Being somewhat overlooked by Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, this Uruguayan squad is dangerous. Its players are in the top flights of Europe and know how to score and wreak havoc.
Look no further than Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez. Núñez is lighting in a bottle, and if he reaches his peak and scores goals consistently, he is a golden boot candidate in both Copa America and the Premier League. Núñez gets in front of the goal with effectiveness like that of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland; the problem is not being able to put the ball away, at least for Liverpool. For his nation however, he has scored in both of Uruguay’s first two matches in Copa America and in 17 starts for his country, he totals 13 goals.
But who is the catalyst to get Núñez in these opportune scoring chances? Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, Facundo Pellistri who will be returning to Manchester United from loan in the fall and Maximiliano Araújo, who plays for Toluca of Liga MX (the highest domestic league in Mexico) and is playing himself into a high-level European signing.
If that isn’t menacing enough, Uruguay will most likely feature European club soccer legend Luis Suárez after just seven minutes of playing time in the first two matches. Suárez, at 37 years old, is still defying his age with 23 goal contributions in all competitions with Inter Miami of Major League Soccer.
This sets up one of the biggest matches in U.S. soccer history to determine the fate of Berhalter. Sooner rather than later, the reality of the U.S. wasting this opportunity of success against non-CONCACAF competition will be real and cannot be understated.
If the players truly love Berhalter and want him to lead this nation into the highest of high-pressure situations, they will prove it and beat Uruguay.
The good news for the U.S. is that Uruguay has already qualified for the quarterfinals and potentially could rest some of its stars.
There are two doors open for the USMNT — it all depends on which one it walks through, and the trajectory of the program will change forever.
