Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News
It’s go-time for the United States Men’s Team (USMNT).
For the first time since 2016, they will be playing in the Copa America. It could be the last time this group of players is able to test themselves against quality opposition before the 2026 World Cup.
They’ll be opening the competition against Bolivia in Texas.
USMNT form
For the pair of friendlies prior to the tournament, Gregg Berhalter called in 27 players. Only Timmy Tillman was cut from the tournament roster.
2024 has been a mixed bag for the USMNT coming into this tournament. They dropped a friendly to Slovenia in January. Then, in March, they won another Nations League title by beating Jamaica and Mexico.
Funnily enough those games, along with the Copa America opener against Bolivia, were at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
Immediately prior to the tournament, Colombia hammered the US 5-1. Things looked quite bleak, but the US was able to bounce back and earn a 1-1 draw against Brazil with a goal from Christian Pulisic. That was only the second time in 20 meetings that Brazil had failed to beat the US.
Huge Opportunity
For the US, this Copa America is a huge opportunity.
That means that it’s go-time. These games figure to be the toughest tests faced by the US since the last World Cup. They also figure to be the toughest test the US will face until the next World Cup.
The messaging out of the US camp may be all about preparing for the 2026 World Cup. But it should not be forgotten that the USMNT has made the semi-finals of the Copa America twice in their last three appearances at the tournament.
They finished fourth at Uruguay in 1995 and again finished fourth as the hosts in 2016 (they were a disastrous last place in Venezuela back in 2007). Failure to match those performances would have to be seen as just that: failure.
USMNT kickoff their campaign against Bolivia
