Copa America: USA Must Win to Stay Alive

USA vs Uruguay

The USA are in danger of being eliminated from the 2024 Copa America, which is not what they initially planned when they were given the hosting rights.

After a 2-0 victory over Bolivia in the opener, the Stars and Stripes suffered a huge setback yesterday in the form of a 2-1 loss against Panama.

USA forward Tim Weah essentially cost them a huge opportunity to take all three points and advance to the next round, and now here they are, fighting for their lives against a mighty team in Uruguay.

Uruguay, on the other hand, are through to the knockout stages after beating their first two opponents with ease, and they will look to cap off the group stage with another win at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday.

 

Talking Points

USA have to find Weah’s replacement

USA were at a numbers disadvantage when Tim Weah was given a straight red card for losing his cool against Panama defender Roderick Miller during the 18^th minute.

Weah’s frustration may have been a response to a collision between Cesar Blackman and Matt Turner in the few minutes prior, as the USA goalkeeper landed awkwardly on his right shoulder after making contact with the Panamanian right-back, who didn’t receive a booking for the incident.

The Juventus winger apologised to his teammates after the game for his “silly decision” to hit Miller at the back of his head.

With Tim Weah sidelined, Gregg Berhalter may pick either Ricardo Pepi or Brenden Aaronson to take his place to form a front three alongside Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun.

USA still got the 1-0 lead via Folarin Balogun’s goal shortly after Weah’s ejection, but Cesar Blackman scored the equaliser for Panama and Jose Fajardo scored an 83^rd-minute winner to deal a major blow to the Stars and Stripes’ hopes to advance to the quarter-finals.

A United States victory would ensure their passage to the knockouts, while a draw and a loss would make things complicated.

If USA were held to a draw, they will advance if Panama lose or draw to Bolivia. Meanwhile, USA can only advance from a loss if Panama also lose to Bolivia and they have the superior goal difference.

 

Will Bielsa rotate his Uruguay squad?

Because they’re already through with wins against Panama and Bolivia, head coach Marcelo Bielsa may opt to tinker with his starting XI in order to rest some of his players ahead of the quarter-finals.

Rodrigo Bentancur came off the bench in the first two games, and he can replace Fede Valverde in midfield to partner with Manuel Ugarte, while Jose Gimenez can give Ronald Araujo a rare day off at the back.

Uruguay have performed well, as they’ve already found the back of the net eight times, a tournament-high. Darwin Nunez leads the way with two goals, although I don’t think Bielsa will rest him against USA because they don’t have a deep striker pool.

 

History

USA and Uruguay will meet for the first time since their goalless draw at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City on June 2022. Before that, these two teams met six times, with four of them being international friendly games.

Overall, Uruguay have two wins and USA have only won once, and the other four were draws.

The last time these two teams met in the Copa America was in 1993 during the group stage. La Celeste won 1-0 against the Stars and Stripes, as Santiago Ostolaza scored the only goal of the match during the 51^st minute.

Uruguay went on to the knockout stage, only to lose to Colombia in the quarter-finals, while USA finished at the bottom of their group.

La Celeste, by the way, are the joint-winningest team in Copa America history (alongside Argentina) with 15 trophies, although their last triumph was back in 2011.

 

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP Copa America 2024 odds expect a tight contest between USA and Uruguay on Monday. The Stars and Stripes are slightly favoured to win at 2.42, whereas La Celeste are at 2.78, and a draw is valued at 3.03 in the 1X2 market.

Whether Marcelo Bielsa rotates his squad or not, Uruguay are still the better team than the USA, likely leaving Gregg Berhalter and his boys not in control of their fate.

Both sides are capable of putting up Copa America 2024 highlights, as shown in their first two games, making alternative bets like Over 2.25 at 1.95, Over 2.50 at 2.23, and Total Goal 2-3 at 1.89 viable, while Total Goal 4-6 at 3.96 is also a possibility.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.