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USA dumped out of Copa America! Woeful 1-0 defeat to Uruguay seals group-stage exit and ramps up calls for Gregg Berhalter to be FIRED
A day of reckoning for Gregg Berhalter and his United States team began with torrential rain and warnings of flash floods in Kansas City. Then, as kickoff drew closer, a sea of grey clouds slowly parted and made way for glorious sunshine.
In the end, any hope of that dramatic shift of the skies foreshadowing an upturn in fortunes for Berhalter and Co proved fallacious as a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay in their final group outing at the Copa America sent them packing at the very first hurdle.
What should have been the perfect springboard to catapult into a World Cup on home soil in two years' time full of confidence, full of belief, has instead ended in disaster. USA will play no more part in this sporting festival on their own turf, with a Panama's 3-1 win against Bolivia in the other crucial Group C fixture confirming they will head into the knockout stages at the expense of the sorry hosts.
Here, in front of 55,460 at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, Mathias Olivera's 66th-minute strike completed a clean sweep for Marcelo Bielsa's impressive visitors; three wins from three in the group stage - despite the fact the iconic head coach was not there to see it first hand due to a touchline ban.
USA is out of the Copa America after a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay on Monday in Kansas City
Fans made their feelings clear about the future of Gregg Berhalter from the stands
Even before a ball had been kicked tonight the cries for USA's head coach to be relieved of his duties were rife. Fans wore 'Berhalter Out' t-shirts and held signs aloft depicting the very same message, with last week's catastrophic 2-1 loss to Panama the final straw for many supporters.
After a tweaked rendition of the Star Spangled Banner - which concluded with 'and the home of the Chiefs!' - rang out in the stands, the first 10 minutes proved a slow and cagey affair as both teams got to grips with a slightly patchy playing surface.
Yet as the first half progressed, it was USA who slowly kicked into gear and began feeding off the noise inside Arrowhead.
In the 13th minute they carved out their first half chance when Giovanni Reyna was released through on the left side of the box by Weston McKennie, only for Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet to get down and stop his ball across goal.
With a win almost certainly required to advance, USA fired out of the blocks very much with the urgency of a team scrapping for their lives. Against a so-far rampant Uruguay threatening to go all the way and end their 13-year wait for another title, they were the ones in control early on.
Though for all the energy, for all the desire to make something happen and restore some optimism, the likes of Reyna, Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun still failed to truly test Rochet despite their encouraging start. Then the dreaded news trickled over from Orlando to inject the first dose of anxiety into proceedings; Panama had taken the lead against Bolivia, and as things stood the host nation was packing its bags.
Almost as if they were privy to the other score that mattered on the night, USA suddenly had the life sucked out of them. Jose Fajardo's opener in Florida appeared to kill the mood both on the field and in the stands as Uruguay finally got a foothold in the middle of the park. Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde began to dictate the game, along with the dangerous Nicolas De La Cruz of Flamengo. Liverpool's Darwin Nunez looked bright but, as ever, lacked end product.
Controversial refereeing decisions proved the major talking point in the shock defeat to Panama. If American fans had gripes with last week's officiating, however, Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega whipped up a whole new level of outrage here.
Christian Pulisic screams in the face of the referee, who courted controversy throughout
Mathias Olivera bundled home what proved the winner for Uruguay late on in the game
US fans packed into Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium, but it ended in a 1-0 Uruguay victory
None of Ortega's questionable calls on the night were more peculiar than when, in the 32nd minute, he inexplicably allowed Nunez to take a short free-kick and catch USA napping at the exact same time he was dishing out a yellow card to Chris Richards for a foul on De La Cruz. To spare his blushes and further fury, Tim Ream fortunately raced back and made a crucial block to deny Nahitan Nandez.
A bubbling atmosphere then reached boiling point 10 minutes later, again the result of a puzzling move from the referee. As Uruguay continued to press for an opener, a clearance from Richards appeared to brush the hand of Manuel Ugarte.
The ball fell midway through the USA half to Pulisic, who produced a sharp turn to beat his man and seemingly spark a counter-attack. It was only at that delayed point when Ortega chose to blow his whistle for a handball on Ugarte, refusing to play what looked a clear advantage a good 10 seconds after the alleged offense.
Moments before that, Berhalter was dealt a seismic blow when first-choice striker Folarin Balogun limped out injured, with Ricardo Pepi coming on in his place. Earlier in the night the 22-year-old had shipped a heavy challenge from Ronald Araujo when through on goal, and it took its toll before the halftime whistle came.
With Panama leading, Uruguay growing stronger and Ortega turning into public enemy No 1, Balogun's withdrawal left a bitter taste that perhaps this might not be USA's night.
The pressure is on Berhalter after his team crashed out at the very first hurdle on home turf
Tyler Adams was among the USMNT side sent packing in the group stages of Copa America
Earlier in the first half there was also concern for Maximiliano Araujo, who was taken off on a stretcher after a nasty collision in the box.
After the break it quickly became apparent that Uruguay were the team in the ascendency. Bielsa may not have been there to fire them up, but in the first 10 minutes of the second half the visitors came close with a series of near misses. Valverde, well in his groove by this point, fired a rocket from distance which crept wide. Matias Vina also went close with a glancing header from inside the box.
Just as hope appeared to be fading, just as USA were looking a team running out of both ideas and stamina, more news filtered through from Orlando. This time it brought the US contingent at Arrowhead back alive.
Bolivia, without a goal so far in this tournament, had come up trumps for them by drawing level against Panama and shifting the story in Group C dramatically. Berhalter let his players know that their faltering bid to reach the knockout stages was back on out of nowhere, a timely morale boost at the business stage of this pivotal fixture.
Or so it seemed.
Uruguay's Ronald Araujo (center) celebrates after Olivera's winning goal against the USMNT
Goalkeeper Matt Turner hugs manager Berhalter at full-time of the game at Arrowhead
Because seconds later, as hopeful chants of 'USA, USA' reverberated around the four walls of this famous stadium, Uruguay burst their bubble to once again flip the script.
De La Cruz first whipped in a free-kick from the right-hand side and Araujo got his head to it, forcing a save from Turner before the ball fell to substitute Olivera with the goal gaping. The Napoli defender made no mistake, bundling it home from close range to break the deadlock and shatter American hearts.
A lengthy and controversial VAR check ensued, with some replays appearing to show that Olivera may well have been narrowly offside when Araujo flicked his header in, yet the conclusion was onside by the tightest of margins. The goal had been given.
And to put the final nail in the coffin, moments later Panama restored the lead against Bolivia to all but bring USA's bleak campaign to the abruptest of ends.
They huffed and puffed in the closing moments, with substitutes Haji Wright and Josh Sargeant managing to cause Uruguay some late problems, yet the final whistle soon sounded to seal their fate.
Boos inevitably provided the closing soundtrack at Arrowhead, home to one of the country's greatest sporting dynasties of the 21st century. Boy how they could have benefitted from the same know-how and savviness as the Kansas City Chiefs tonight.
Instead, a tournament that had offered so much has brought some uncomfortable home truths for Berhalter and his 'Golden Generation'.