USA eliminated from Copa America 2024: USMNT suffers devastating defeat to Uruguay after VAR offside controversy

The U.S. men's national team has been eliminated from Copa America 2024 after a 1-0 loss to Uruguay 1-0 on the final matchday of the group stage at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Gregg Berhalter's side was left with a mountain to climb prior to kickoff, as they faced one of the tournament favorites. And that task was made nearly impossible as Panama beat Bolivia 3-1 in the other Group C match.

The Sporting News takes a look at how the USMNT's tournament unfolded.

MORE: Uruguay's controversial offside goal explained

How USA were eliminated from Copa America 2024

Berhalter's men got off to the perfect start to the tournament, as they beat Bolivia 2-0 in their opening game.

But by the final group game, the United States found themselves in a sticky situation heading into their game against Uruguay after a surprising defeat vs. Panama in their second Copa America group stage game.

The first half of that game against Panama was a 45 minutes which will possibly go down as the most dramatic in Copa America history.

The U.S. thought they'd taken the lead after five minutes when Weston McKennie fired home a rebound but Timothy Ream was offside from the free-kick and after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out. Berhalter's men then faced a huge setback when Tim Weah was sent off for an off-the-ball incident, reducing them to 10 men.

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Against the odds, Folarin Balogun put the tournament hosts ahead with his second goal in as many games, but Panama's Cesar Blackman soon equalized. Even with 10 men, USA looked good and kept things tight, but Jose Fajardo stunned the home crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with an 83rd-minute winner that secured the victory.

As a result, Berhalter’s team was dealt the following permutations to qualify: win vs. Uruguay plus a Panama tie or loss to Bolivia (or beat Panama's goal differential in case of a win), or a tie plus a Panama tie.

At halftime of the third matchday, USA were deadlocked at 0-0, but Panama held the lead against Bolivia, meaning only a win would see the US through to the knockout rounds.

News soon filtered around Arrowhead Stadium in the second half that Bolivia had equalized in the 70th minute against Panama and the crowd erupted into chants: "USA! USA! USA!"

As Uruguay went to take a free-kick, Berhalter gestured that the score of the other game was 1-1. Seconds later, the U.S. conceded. That made a huge dent in their qualification hopes.

There was huge controversy around Uruguay's goal, as it appeared there was an offside in the build-up. VAR took a look but the goal stood and matters got worse for USA as Panama retook the lead against Bolivia.

That presented an incredibly tough task as USMNT needed two goals against Uruguay in the last 18 mins to advance.

Panama then added a third and won their crucial clash with Bolivia and the U.S. failed to mount what would have been a miracle comeback.

MORE: Who is controversial USA-Uruguay referee Kevin Ortega?

Copa America 2024 schedule, format

The 2024 Copa America featured 16 teams drawn into four groups of four teams each. The draw took place on Thursday, December 7, 2023, in Miami, Florida.

Competition began on June 20, 2024, with the opening group stage match from Atlanta, GA featuring defending champions Argentina against playoff winners Canada. The group stage will then run through July 2, with the top two finishers in each group advancing to the knockout stage, while the bottom two are eliminated.

The knockout stage will begin on July 4 with the quarterfinals, with a single-elimination bracket played through to conclusion. The lone exception will be a third-place match arranged for those defeated in the semifinal, contested the day before the final is played on July 14.

Round	Dates
Group Stage	June 20 — July 2, 2024
Quarterfinals	July 4-6, 2024
Semifinals	July 9-10, 2024
Third Place	July 13, 2024
Final	July 14, 2024