Robinson calls the refereeing “amateur hour” but says they can’t blame him for the result. Scott Bassett on Berhalter: “Berhalter out. It’s not about one game. It’s about the pattern of his overall cluelessness about how to mold this most talented group of players we’ve produced into anything like a coherent team over the multiple years he’s been in charge. Berhalter out.” I’ll wrap with this thought, from the perspective of someone who was following soccer in this country when that was a sure way of getting oneself labeled as a trouble-making geek. The USA is much better at soccer now that it was in the past. Players can command top dollar (or Euro, or pound) with Europe’s top clubs, or at least their top leagues. But so is everyone else. In the 1990s, the typical English club was still … English. Now the players come from all over. So we can’t just look at a bunch of players getting their chances in the EPL and Serie A and say that’s enough to make the national team better. It’s going to take something else to turn the US team into a side that consistently beats weaker sides and can create chances against stronger ones. And it helps if your players don’t pick up a silly red card early in a game they simply have to win. That’s all for tonight. See you for Canada’s next game? Espen Bommen: “The camera at a random angle. The offside line drawn with a crayon. The VAR decision taking 5 minutes. Makes me realize how much I miss the premier league….” Ouch. The Premier League has had a rough go of VAR. MLS, oddly enough, does it relatively well. Pulisic is asked about the refereeing but says he doesn’t really want to talk about that. Probably best to take the high road, such as it is. Benjamin Clark raises an interesting point: “If it’s any consolation, I thought the USA looked really good against Bolivia so hopefully in 2026 they’ll just play teams from countries that each have a military coup attempting to overthrow their respective national government during the tournament. I find it strange no commentator has offered that explanation for why, ‘the U.S. couldn’t play like they did against Bolivia’? Maybe, just maybe, it was because the Bolivian players had other things on their minds? Just a theory though.” I think a lot of us are trying to escape political unrest, so we may not have noticed. Full time: USA 0-1 Uruguay Forget for a moment the farcical elements of this game. A young, inexperienced referee who was overwhelmed by the occasion. A goal scored by someone in an offside position – unless you freeze-frame it and look at it from a particular angle drawing lines that don’t match up to players’ body parts. (Lines are never as precise as we’re led to believe, anyway. What is the instant that a ball is kicked?) Forget all that. The USA weren’t good enough. They played 90 minutes with a lot of positives. They never really looked like they were going to score. Never. Losing Balogun certainly hurt. But the USA still had plenty of high-level creative pros in the attack, and they never combined to create anything truly dangerous. And that will likely cost Gregg Berhalter his job. 90 min +5: Every time the USA get a little bit of space for a shot, multiple Uruguayan defenders race from all directions to close it down. Give full credit to Uruguay here. They’re a level better than the USA, certainly. 90 min +4: Uruguay have outshot the USA 12-4. Only a 4-3 edge when we consider only shots on target, but it’s still a disparity. And this is stellar defense from Uruguay. 90 min +2: Pulisic is doing everything he can at this point. He shoots from the top of the area, but Uruguay have switched to a 9-0-1 formation at this point, and they have players back to block. 90 min: The ball is in the USA’s half, though, and Turner has another save to make. Uruguay play keepaway, and Tillman commits a frustration foul that will allow Uruguay to kill part of the six minutes of stoppage time. 89 min: LUIS SUAREZ IS IN! Núñez and Ugarte are out. Malik Tillman replaces Ream, as the USA shift to a 0-0-0-10 formation. Panama have won 3-1. The USA must score twice in stoppage time to advance. 88 min: The Uruguayan player who ran into Pulisic is down. We’re getting some subs. But here’s another look at the offside call. 87 min: A slick buildup with Pulisic shaking off contact to play it to Reyna, and Haji Wright puts in a shot that’s deflected, forcing Rochet to re-gather himself to smother the ball. 84 min: We get another look at the line on the non-offside call on the Uruguay goal. I’m biased here – in favor of referees, because I am one. I’ve never liked the notion of making an offside called by lines drawn at an instant in time that may or may not coincide with the exact microsecond the ball was played. And in this case – it still looks like the player was offside, unless you draw the line at the middle of Olivera’s torso instead of the farthest part of it. 83 min: Clever work from Sargent 10 yards out. He earns a corner. The crowd has gotten into this, willing the US to get something out of this impossible situation. 81 min: Pulisic’s free kick is, like the rest of his free kicks in this tournament, not enough to concern Uruguay. A long throw-in is a little more dangerous, with Sargent rising but unable to steer it on goal. 78 min: My mailbag has turned violent. Haji Wright is preparing to enter. Joe Scally’s painful night will end there. Not sure how they’ll lineup now. Someone still has to play right back. Josh Sargent is knocked about five yards down the field. I missed a prior Uruguay sub – Gimenez for Viña. They make another – de la Cruz is out. 77 min: CHANCE for Uruguay, as Núñez rips a shot from 22 yards out that Turner does well to hold. 75 min: CHANCE for the USA, with Rochet spilling the ball at the side of the penalty area. The ball is cycled to Pulisic at the top of the area, but the shot is deflected up in the air, and Ugarte does well to head it away. Then Pulisic is down in the corner … and he’s called for a foul. 74 min: Josh Sargent is in, replacing Musah, as the USA go all-out on the attack. They’ll need two goals now, because Panama just scored. Now we get a replay showing an alleged line showing a defender’s foot being closer to the goal than Olivera’s entire body. The line is of a rather arbitrary nature. 71 min: I’m checking my referee forum to see if they have any idea why that goal counted. One person thinks maybe a defender’s foot was farther back than we realized. Conmebol, the South American federation, have been doing some engaging videos on the VAR calls in this tournament. Well worth a look. Gooooooal! USA 0-1 Uruguay (Olivera 66) That is … inexplicable. Olivera was in an offside position on the initial shot, and he “scored” on the rebound. The biggest fault with VAR is how long it takes to confirm what everyone can easily see. This isn’t a close call. Referee Ortega is laughing, as are players near him. Goooooal? USA 0-1? Uruguay? Free kick to Uruguay, everyone rushes forward, and Turner has to make a big point-blank save on Araujo. But Olivera is right there to put it in. But he’s surely offside. Right? Thank heavens for VAR. 63 min: Word of the Bolivian goal might be getting around the crowd, as we’re hearing a few unexplained roars. As it stands now, the USA would advance. Here’s an idea: Maybe have the USA and Uruguay just kick it around for 30 minutes. The Bolivia-Panama game will be over by then, and then they can decide whether to turn up the intensity for five minutes and change here. Yes, that would be a farce. But a lot of things going on right now are farcical. 62 min: Now Chris Richards is limping. Musah wrestles with Ugarte. The ref lets it go for a few seconds … WHOA … Bolivia have scored! 61 min: Uruguay attack on the left, then try to flip to the other side of the field, but Robinson again has Pellistri under wraps. Early exit or not, Robinson and Balogun have had stellar tournaments. 59 min: The camera lingers on Gregg Berhalter. We may be seeing the last 35 minutes or so of his tenure as US coach – and if you were to base it on this game, it would be harsh. More generally, he just hasn’t inspired a lot of confidence. 58 min: Robinson gets much the better of Pellistri in a duel too close to the US goal. Fulham are obviously better than Manchester United, we can conclude from this anecdotal evidence. 56 min: Looks like we’re going to see Shaq. No, not the NBA legend. Shaq Moore, who did a few years in Spain before coming to MLS. Scally is pleading his case to stay in, though. Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers would be another option, but he had a rough go of it against Bolivia. 54 min: An extraordinarily patient buildup from Uruguay. They’re not really incentivized in this game, given their massive lead on goal difference. Surprising that they’ve been as committed as they are. And … Scally’s down again. That can’t be good. 51 min: Viña tries to convince our referee that Pulisic whacked him in the face. No. Good US pressure forces Rochet into an awkward clearance. Peter Oh, referring to my story on reffing below, points out that we have four non-blondes reffing this game and asks, “What’s up?” That’s a song that lives forever among cover bands. Proud to say mine doesn’t play it. 49 min: Pepi tries a 1-2 combo with Pulisic, but Uruguay alertly cuts out the danger. They race the other way and get past McKennie, but Adams gets back to play it out for a corner. Long shot for the upper corner! But it’s a little wide. 47 min: This is degenerating into farce. Players are fouling, looking up and around for a signal from the ref, then fouling harder. McKennie gets the ball at the top of the 18 but misses wildly. 46 min: We’re underway. The Panama-Bolivia game apparently restarted several minutes ago. Interesting … I just discovered that referee Kevin Ortega did a couple of games in the last Olympics. Justin Kavanaugh: “Never mind the USA vacancy just yet, why have Fox not shown an image of the empty tub that Bielsa should be sitting atop? We are in the presence of a great absence tonight.” Someone should have Bielsa doing commentary. If you’re reading, Mr. Bielsa, please see my email address above. OK, the “meaningful game ref” story … In my first season, I found myself as an AR in a matchup of two Under-13 teams from two of the best-reputed clubs in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The referee was a young blonde woman, and the parents behind me figured they’d feed stereotypes of young blonde women, not realizing she had just finished a terrific college soccer career. Finally, one of the parents exclaimed, “And it’s such an important game, too!” I was sorely tempted to turn around and say, “It can’t be that important if I’m here.” Speaking of US Soccer politics, Sam Lopez writes: “As I am MBMing (excuse the verbing), it strikes me Berhalter has Gareth Southgate syndrome; talented team, very little ability to get the best from them. He has needed to be gone for a while... has his brother’s position helped keep him in?” That would Jay Berhalter, a longtime US Soccer executive. But he’s no longer there. I’d argue Southgate’s team is a bit more talented than this US team. They just played the game against Slovakia like the teams in the Monty Python philosopher football sketch – 89 minutes of meandering, and then, “Eureka!” Also in the mailbag, I’ve been told I’m a gem for providing commentary while someone is chasing toddlers. That was me … how many years ago? Too many to count. (As a parent, not a toddler.) On Rafa Benitez: Scott Bassett: “Well, he’s out of work, I think…speaks good English, is in his 60s now, likes a project. Seems kinda like the time club managers make that transition?” Joe Pearson: “To quote former NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer, the answer to all your questions is money.” Yeah, and US Soccer ain’t got it. Well, maybe they will after they count the money from hosting this tournament. They got a nice bottom-line boost last time. But they also spend a ton of money on their national teams already and not much on development. Halftime: USA 0-0 Uruguay A lovely buildup with Pepi, Reyna and Robinson brings us to the end of the alleged five minutes and beyond. Alexi Lalas is fond of saying there are no more moral victories. The USA have played well. It’s not enough right now. 45 min +5: Scally is still down, and with Dest already missing the tournament due to injury, it’s hard to see who would be a viable replacement. Turner takes the free kick and slices it like an Olympic archer missing … OK, let’s say Olympic golfer. 45 min +3: Scally is fouled again. And the referee rightly has seen enough of that. Yellow card – whether it’s for this foul alone or persistent infringement is anyone’s guess. That’s a yellow card on … Núñez! Scally gets treatment. 45 min +1: Uruguay have asserted control of the game. Adams makes a vital block 20 yards out dead-center. And give the referee credit for one thing here – Núñez hits the ground between two US defenders but was clearly NOT fouled, and the referee wasn’t fooled. 45 min: Replay of the prior Uruguayan chance – direct play over Scally’s head, played back to the top corner of the area, floated across, and Pellistri simply made a mess of it. We should have about 6-7 minutes of stoppage time. We’ll probably get two. OK, five. 44 min: I do still owe everyone my story about reffing a “meaningful game.” Uruguay with a shot wide. Very quick counter from the USA, and Pulisic has a shot/cross smothered by the keeper. 42 min: Handball on Uruguay, but the referee waited to call it until Pulisic was off to the races down the right. That’s not how “advantage” works, sir. 40 min: Balogun is down, and it appears he will not continue. Hard to tell what the specific injury might be. He’s been targeted like an Olympic archery … well, target. Ricardo Pepi, who has been industrious while misfiring like an Olympic archer missing the … well, target … is the sub. Terrible loss for the USA. 38 min: I’ll get to the Rafa Benitez-related emails at halftime. Free kick Uruguay after a rather pointless foul by Adams. The kick sails over everything, but it stays in play, and it’s crossed to the one guy the US really don’t want to see with the ball – Nuñez, who whips a shot wide of the near post. Checking the inbox – Paul Pooley: “I like the overhead tactical cam. Easier to see movement off the ball. Much better than the star cam approach to so many broadcasts, e.g., one player in the Portugal game earlier instead of 22.” At times, sure, but it’s very difficult to identify players from this. 35 min: Richards would miss the next US match if they advance. Momentum has shifted. Players are down. It’s a mess. 34 min: So the referee was calling a foul on Chris Richards and was going to pull out a card. Uruguay decided to take the kick quickly, which you can’t really do under those circumstances, but they take off anyway. Ream ends up clearing the ball alertly and even a little acrobatically. 32 min: NOW we get a US attack on the right, with Pulisic racing up to win a throw-in. And oh dear, oh dear, oh dear … 31 min: Musah and Reyna combine on the left, where most of the US attack has come from, even with Pulisic on the other end. Played back and back and back, and once again, Uruguayan pressure forces Turner to rush a clearance. 29 min: While trainers tend to Balogun et al, we get a replay of the incident that caused Araujo to leave. Completely accidental, but Araujo crashed into Ream and took the worst of it. 28 min: Balogun is hauled down in the penalty area, but he was clearly offside before receiving the ball. The worse news: Balogun is down, as is Uruguayan keeper Rochet. The good news: It was a promising buildup from Reyna to McKennie. 26 min: Maximiliano Araujo is the player who was down, and he leaves in a neck brace on a stretcher. LAFC’s Cristian Olivera is on. Ream is not being subbed out. 24 min: Uruguay corner kick, and it’s a dangerous one. Cleared, but we have players down. Tim Ream, who’s nearly as old as I am (exaggerated for effect), is getting attention. And the whole Uruguayan team is gathered around a player. Is everyone enjoying the game? Well … Jim Denvir: “The camera angle in this coverage is ridiculous. Did Fox put a camera on the International Space Station?” Espen Bommen: “It’s a shame that my fear of heights will prevent me from watching what is a very good game.” It’s a bit like watching a video game circa 1986. 22 min: I inhabit a message board with a bunch of soccer referees. One of the most experiences of the bunch is someone who typically does not go along with the popular but unfounded American complaints about the officials. In this case, he puts it succinctly: “This guy … this guy is not very good.” Panama have scored. If the games ended NOW, the USA would be out. 19 min: Panama-Bolivia – not Jamaica, as I may have said earlier – remains 0-0. If the games ended now … everyone would be very surprised. Justin Kavanaugh: “I like your dropped-ball solution to the heel-dragging trends we’ve seen of late in getting the second half started, Beau. However, I still think the VAR people would find a way to disallow any resulting goal by Lukaku. And Timothy Weah would probably argue that the ref dropped the ball in the wrong place.” Meanwhile, the USA get another free kick, and our young referee has some stern words for the person who just tackled Antonee Robinson as if auditioning for the team that normally inhabits this stadium. (Hey, is Kelce here? How about Taylor?) The free kick lands at the site of the Chiefs’ proposed new stadium in Kansas. 16 min: Adams is going to pick up a yellow card after a collision at midfield. Replay shows that is exactly the wrong decision. The commentators mentioned that this is a young, inexperienced referee. I have a story about that … 15 min: Again, the USA make some dangerous passes to and near their goalkeeper. Then Scally is fouled once again – he’s becoming a magnet for mistimed tackles for some reason. Replay shows Balogun’s shirt was nearly pulled all the way off his body, as in a Right Said Fred video. 14 min: Ball won cleanly at midfield, and the USA go to the races. Out left to Reyna, and his cross is smothered by Rochet with Balogun looming nearby. Balogun gets the ball again and complains that he’s being held. Which he is. 12 min: Corner kick to the USA – have to say, this is a bright start for the desperate home team. They get two heads to this one (not at the same time), and they’re getting closer. 11 min: Scott Bassett has a thought on the next US coach: “I was chatting with a Spanish friend the other day and he said he thought Rafa Benitez would be perfect for the US job. Would organize the be-jeesus out of the defence and build from that foundation with the unrelenting running and hussle we’re known for. Maybe a bit of a throwback, but it didn’t seem like the worst idea...” Maybe, but why in the world would he want the job? Scott also asks if Pulisic often plays on the right, and the answer is yes. Pulisic has another free kick, and this one’s slightly better, but McKennie can’t turn it into a shot. 9 min: Nifty move through the US defense there, but the Uruguay through ball is nearest to an attacker who’s at least five feet (1.8u792 meters) offside. 8 min: Antonee Robinson has been one of the best players for the USA in this tournament, but he can still be one of the most perplexing. A needless, obvious foul gives Uruguay a free kick at midfield and, more importantly, gets a talking-to from the referee, which means he’ll have to be more careful now. 7 min: And now a free kick in the attacking end, as Scally is clattered to the ground. No doubt about that one. Pulisic will take it, which is a pity, because his deliveries have been subpar in this tournament. This one finds Ream’s head, but it goes up and over. 5 min: McKennie tangles with Araujo, but not enough to call a foul either way. Araujo, apparently thinking there was actually a foul of some kind and surely in his favor, covers up the ball like an eagle sitting on a nest egg. Playing in a dangerous manner. Free kick USA. 4 min: Oooooh, let’s see that one again. Direct ball to the left flank. Reyna races in to get the loose ball, and he ends up deposited on the grass. No call. Would’ve been a free kick from just outside the penalty area. 2 min: Near-disaster early on a weak backpass to Turner. The goalkeeper is alert and clears with no problem. And he appears healthy despite his collision against Panama. 1 min: The broadcast feed spent about 15 of the first 40 seconds focused on Gregg Berhalter. Think he might be under pressure? The USA attack, but they’re offside. If you happen to be watching Jamaica-Bolivia and feel like sending me some updates, please do. PEEP! We’re underway. Weather is warm but not too hot – 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) and humid. I’ve just realized that the corporate sponsor of this stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, is my dental insurer. Anthems have finished. Final ads run now. Peter Oh writes: “I hope Luis Suarez comes off the Uruguay bench. I’m pretty sure he’d love to sink his teeth into some Kansas City barbecue!” I’ll say for the record that North Carolina barbecue is better. I may be slightly biased. But Suarez could probably sample for himself while he’s sitting on the bench, though coming into a game as a substitute with a belly full of BBQ might not be the best idea. Tonight’s officials are: Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru) Assistant referees: Michael Orue and Stephen Atoche (Peru) Fourth referee: Augusto Menendez (Peru) VAR: Carlos Orbe (Ecuador) I’m taking the summer off, so I wasn’t eligible to get the call. I’m already being asked who should replace Gregg Berhalter if the USA fail to advance and he is dismissed, which most of us believe would be the natural consequence. (If the USA win and fail to advance, maybe not – even a draw against a team as good as Uruguay in a meaningful competition could be enough.) I’ll say JJ Redick. Here’s the situation: 1. Uruguay, 6 pts., +7 GD (8-1) 2. USA, 3 pts., +1 GD (3-2) 3. Panama, 3 pts., -1 GD (3-4) 4. Bolivia, 0 pts., -7 GD (0-7) Tiebreakers are, as they usually are in such things, goal difference followed by goals scored followed by head-to-head points followed by head-to-head goal difference followed by head-to-head goals scored followed by fewest red cards followed by fewest yellow cards followed by drawing of lots. If it comes to the last one, I like the USA’s chances. Essentially, whatever Panama does, the USA must match. - If Panama loses, then the USA can advance with a loss as long as they don’t give up a ton of goals. (Three teams would be tied with 3 points each.) - If Panama draws, the USA will advance with a draw. (Both teams would have 4 points, and their goal differences would remain as they are.) - If Panama wins, the USA needs a win, and they’ll need to be careful with goal difference. So the USA could win 1-0 tonight and still get bounced out if Panama wins 3-0. But the USA has its destiny in its own hands. Just win by enough goals to finish ahead of Uruguay – 4-0 would do it. One person you will NOT see on the sideline tonight is Marcelo Bielsa, the well-traveled Argentine manager who is in charge of the Uruguay team. He is suspended because he brought his team out late for the second half, which is becoming a bit of a trend these days. Quick Laws of the Game change that would solve that problem – the referee simply drops the ball when 15 minutes have passed, and if only one team is on the field, so be it. Uruguay lineup Uruguay’s starting XI is unchanged from the side that ran Bolivia off the field 5-0. 1-Rochet; 17-Viña, 16-M. Olivera, 4-R. Araujo, 8-Nandez; 15-Valverde, 5-Ugarte; 20-M. Araujo, 7-de la Cruz, 11-Pellistri; 19-Nuñez If you’re a devoted Premier League follower, you’ll recognize the last two names from Manchester United and Liverpool. Valverde, valued at a staggering 120m Euros at transfermarkt, is at Real Madrid. Ronald Araujo is at Barcelona. Uruguay’s bench includes two players in Major League Soccer – young forward Cristian Olivera (Los Angeles) and some guy named Luis Suarez (Inter Messi, er, Miami). USA lineup With Timothy Weah suspended for his costly act of petulance against Panama, Yunus Musah comes into the starting lineup to reunite the “MMA” midfield (Musah, McKennie, Adams) while Gio Reyna scoots up to the front line. Everything else is the same, including the goalkeeper spot, where Matt Turner has recovered well enough to play again. 1-Turner; 5-A. Robinson, 13-Ream, 3-Richards, 22-Scally; 4-Adams, 6-Musah, 8-McKennie; 10-Pulisic, 20-Balogun, 7-Reyna Preamble Welcome to the most pivotal game the US men have played in nearly seven years. In October 2017 … no, let’s not talk about that. We all know what happened. If not, Google “Couva” and a bunch of swear words. The last World Cup qualifying cycle was a bit easier. The US weren’t in significant danger on the last matchday. Tonight in Kansas City, the USA may well be playing for their coach’s future and for their own reputation. This is, we’re so often told, a golden generation of US players. They all ply their trade with glittering teams in Europe – Milan, Juventus, Monaco … um … PSV? Fulham? Cardiff City? Wait – this is the USA’s golden generation? Maybe, maybe not. But expectations have been high for a while now. The expectation in this Copa America on home soil was certainly a date in the knockout rounds. But now that path goes through a very good Uruguay team – unless Bolivia suddenly figure out the sport and get a result against Panama. To invoke the great American philosopher Robert Johnson: We’re going down to the crossroads. Fall down on our knees? Flag a ride? We’ll find out. Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Tom Dart of Gregg Berhalter at a crossroads: It may seem harsh that Gregg Berhalter’s job as USMNT head coach is in acute jeopardy because one of his players decided to smack an opponent in the head. Then again, in the US’s last big tournament test before it co-hosts the 2026 World Cup, a coach expected to reach at least the quarter-finals is staring at a group-stage exit in the Copa América, barring what seems an improbable triumph against one of the favorites, Uruguay, in Kansas City on Monday. Nice guy, Berhalter. Popular with players, respectful to the media, hard-working, thoughtful, sincere and caring. But the core issue since the round of 16 exit to the Netherlands at Qatar 2022 World Cup is ruthless in its clarity and simplicity: is the man who admirably resuscitated the program and nurtured a gifted group of youngsters towards maturity after the failure to reach the 2018 World Cup also the right man to take the US to the next level? Will he do better in 2026, the biggest single opportunity to grow the sport in the US since 1994?