By David Yagudayev, Science and Technology Editor
The 2024 Copa America soccer tournament, hosted across The United States of America, featured exciting matchups and storylines between South and North American countries. The dominant and courageous Argentina squad led by Lionel Messi hoped to continue their title-winning habits, after previously winning the 2020 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup tournaments. Heavyweights Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia strived to end their trophyless runs. Team USA sought to portray themselves as a squad not to be reckoned with by making it far in the tournament. Often referred to as the “golden generation,” the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT), being the current hosts of Copa America and future hosts of the FIFA World Cup in two years, aspired to create history on home soil.
The tournament was an exciting one to watch with Argentina ultimately making it to the final and winning against Colombia. The USMNT, on the other hand, was less successful. The team started off the tournament well, beating Bolivia 2-0. However, they took an unexpected hit against Panama in their second group stage game, losing 2-1. This loss put team USA in an unfortunate position, one where they would have to beat Uruguay in order to make it past the group stage.
The Uruguay-USA face-off was a fierce game, but one that Uruguay controlled and ultimately won against the USMNT. The Americans struggled to score, only producing an xG (expected goals) of 0.56 in comparison to Uruguay’s 1.4. Since the USMNT knew they had to go all out and play a very aggressive attacking game in order to advance, 0.56 is simply an unsatisfactory xG. On the other hand, Uruguay played a good game; their solid playing style, aggressive nature, and incredible individual talents were ultimately what led them to win all three group stage matches.
I was not surprised when Uruguay beat the USMNT. After personally witnessing Uruguay thrash Bolivia 5-0 at MetLife Stadium and completely dominate that game, it was evident that team USA would really have to play at their very best in order to stand a chance against such a strong team. However, team USA forced this disastrous situation upon themselves when they lost against Panama 2-1, which was their main mistake. Specifically, in the 18th minute, Timothy Weah’s lack of control and outburst against the Panamanian player he was marking was completely uncalled for. For his actions he received a red card, which ultimately led to a 10-man team USA trying to hold off against the entire Panamanian side.
If this disappointing form continues, then the USMNT will not perform to its expected standard at the World Cup in two years and the team’s supposed “golden generation” talent will be wasted. The USMNT has great players and strong starters. However, their depth on the bench, which includes substitutes/non-starting players, is simply not as great. USMNT coach Greg Berhalter was unable to bring out the best in the team and has, since the time of writing this article, stepped down from his coaching position due to his poor record with the team. For a country that has so much talent and so many resources to perform well on the international footballing stage, Americans simply deserve better. Especially, considering the fact that the USA is the host country for the biggest international tournaments in the next two years (FIFA Club World Cup and FIFA World Cup).
Team USA has quality players but is lacking the drive and courage that other teams possess. The tenacity and passion from the USMNT is not the same as Argentina, who ultimately won the tournament. At such difficult tournaments, such as Copa America, where the outcome of one match can lead to an elimination, every single moment counts and can be the difference maker as to whether a team advances or not. The USMNT will hopefully learn from their previous mistakes. With a new coach and a renewed sense of direction, they will have to show the world at the biggest stage in football, the FIFA World Cup 2026, that they are capable of upholding the title “golden generation.”