The hosts are deservedly out of the Copa America, and Uruguay go through at the top of Group C on nine points. Check out the best facts, stats and live Opta data with our United States vs Uruguay stats page.
The United States crashed out of the Copa America following a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay, who advanced to the quarter-finals as Group C winners.
The defeat at Arrowsmith Stadium – coupled with Panama’s 3-1 victory over bottom side Bolivia – culminated in the Stars and Stripes falling at the first hurdle in their own tournament.
Though both sides were generally lacking a creative spark in the final third, Mathías Olivera’s 66th-minute strike was enough to seal the hosts’ fate.
Meanwhile, Uruguay ensured a 100% record as they marched into the last eight, where a showdown with the Group D runners-up awaits them in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Each side lost a player to injury during a disjointed first half in Kansas City. Uruguay’s Maximiliano Araújo was stretchered off with suspected concussion following an aerial collision with Tim Ream in the 27th minute, while Folarin Balogun limped off for the hosts four minutes before the break.
The closest either team came to breaking the deadlock was on 33 minutes when a quickly taken Uruguay free-kick released Nahitan Nández, whose clipped effort towards goal was cleared away by Ream.
Just after the hour mark, news filtered through from Orlando that Bolivia had equalised against Panama to move Gregg Berhalter’s side back up to second place in Group C.
However, the joy was short-lived as a Uruguay free-kick saw Matt Turner parry Ronald Araujo’s fierce header straight to Olivera, who just about stayed onside to tuck home the rebound from close range.
Panama regained their lead soon after to leave the U.S. needing two goals to stand any chance of progressing in a match they struggled to string together two passes. They completed 72.6% of their passes, and Turner attempted more than every one of his midfield and attacking teammates over the 90 minutes.
Christian Pulisic and Haji Wright both saw deflected efforts blocked on the line, but that was as close as the tournament hosts came to finding a route back into the contest, as their stubborn opponents held out to inflict the defeat that ended hopes of home glory.
Unblemished Uruguay Make Copa America History
When it comes to the Copa America, you write Uruguay off at your peril.
After all, La Celeste have won the competition 15 times – the most recent of these triumphs coming in 2011. It is a tally only matched by reigning champions Argentina. They have also only failed to progress beyond the group stages once in the last 25 years (2016).
And for the first time in their history, Uruguay have now registered a 100% record in a single group stage, while they have also started a single campaign with three straight wins for the first time since 1959.
Entering the final day of group play tomorrow with Group D still to play their third matches, Uruguay are third favourites, according to the Opta supercomputer.
Marcelo Bielsa was serving a touchline ban, but will return to the dugout for the quarter-finals. Having led Argentina to the final of this competition in 2004, he would love to go the extra step with La Celeste two decades on and get his hands on this trophy.
Unwanted History for Departing Host Nation
For the first time at an international tournament, the United States have failed to advance from the group stage after winning their opening match, having progressed in each of the 23 previous instances.
Despite the defeat against Panama last time out, Berhalter stuck with continuity as his only change was an enforced one with Yunus Musah replacing the suspended Timothy Weah.
It meant 10 players had started all three group games for the Stars and Stripes in a major competition for only the fourth time (the feat also occurring at the 1950 World Cup, 1994 World Cup and 2016 Copa America).
Previously unbeaten against Uruguay on U.S. soil, they had won their final group match at each of their last six tournaments.
However, their xG of 0.58 demonstrated the lacking of a clinical edge in the final third, with just three shots on target throughout the entire contest. But to an extend, assessing attempts on goal might be putting the cart before the horse. The U.S. completed 75.4% of their passes in this tournament, which was better than only Ecuador and Peru.
And despite the best efforts of the Kansas City crowd to rally the players, the hosts just could not get going, and you could not see a route back for them once they fell behind. That proved to be the case.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the United States vs Uruguay stats from their Copa America 2024 Group C clash at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
United States vs Uruguay: Post-Match Facts
- Uruguay have opened a CONMEBOL Copa America tournament with three consecutive victories for the first time since 1959, in the tournament held in Ecuador. Additionally, this is the first time La Celeste collected 100% of the available points in an initial phase of the tournament since 1942, when they won all six of their matches and were crowned champions in Montevideo.
- Uruguay defeated the United States on U.S. soil for the first time in their seventh attempt, following four draws and two losses. Overall, La Celeste has only beaten the USA in official competitions: 3-0 in the 1924 Paris Olympics and 1-0 in the 1993 Copa America.
- Uruguay have recorded three consecutive victories against Concacaf opponents in the Copa America, marking La Celeste’s best streak against teams from that confederation in the competition.
- The United States failed to advance past the group stage of the Copa America for the first time since the 2007 edition. The North American team has progressed beyond this stage in two of its five participations (1995, 2016).
- The seven aerial duels won by Ronald Araujo tonight against the United States were the most by an Uruguayan player in the last three editions of the Copa America, matching Federico Valverde’s performance against Chile in 2019.
- Sergio Rochet has kept a clean sheet in six of the last seven matches he has played for Uruguay across all competitions. The only team that managed to score against him during this period was Panama in the current Copa America (3-1).
Line-ups
USA: Matt Turner, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Joe Scally, Yunus Musah, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Giovanni Reyna
Uruguay: Sergio Rochet, Matías Viña, Mathías Olivera, Ronald Araujo, Nahitan Nández, Federico Valverde, Manuel Ugarte, Maximiliano Araújo, Nicolás de la Cruz, Facundo Pellistri, Darwin Núñez
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