After ugly Panama loss, how can the USMNT advance at Copa America?

The U.S. men’s national team entered Thursday’s game against Panama hoping to clinch a spot in the Copa América quarterfinal.

Instead, Tim Weah’s early red card set the stage for a shock 2-1 defeat that left the USMNT on the brink of an early exit.

Despite a 2-0 win against Bolivia to open the tournament, the USMNT is in serious trouble heading into its final match of Group C against Uruguay on Monday night.

It’s far from over for Gregg Berhalter’s side, though: There are still a number of scenarios that could see the team avoid a stunning group-stage elimination.

The problem, though, is the most likely path to the quarterfinal involves beating Uruguay. And that won’t be easy.

USMNT advancement scenarios

In the simplest terms, the USMNT can advance by matching or bettering Panama’s result against Bolivia while maintaining its goal differential edge.

Both the USMNT and Panama enter the final matchday on three points, with the U.S. holding a two-goal advantage on goal differential, the first tiebreaker.

Panama will expect to beat Bolivia, which hasn’t won an official match outside of its home soil in nine years.

Let’s break down the USMNT’s advancement scenarios a bit further:

• The USMNT will advance with a win over Uruguay by four or more goals, regardless of Panama’s result.
• If the USMNT and Panama both win, then the U.S. will need to maintain its goal differential advantage to advance.
• If Panama and Bolivia draw, then the U.S. will advance with a win or draw.
• If Bolivia beats Panama, the U.S. will advance with a win or draw, or with a loss if it maintains its goal differential advantage.

Group C standings

Schedule (all times ET)

Monday, July 1: USA vs. Uruguay: 9 p.m., FS1, Univision/TUDN — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Monday, July 1: Bolivia vs. Panama: 9 p.m., FS2, UniMas — Inter & Co Stadium, Orlando, FL

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