The United States men’s national team is on the brink.
Following a 2-1 loss to Panama in Copa America, the USMNT realistically needs a win to advance to the knockout stage, as a loss will likely end its tournament. Can the Americans bounce back against Uruguay — which sits atop Group C at 2-0-0 — on July 1 (9 p.m. ET on FS1 and the FOX Sports app)?
On the latest edition of “FOX Soccer Now,” former USMNT defender Jimmy Conrad emphasized the importance of USA’s next game.
“There is some chatter around our squad that we’re a bit soft and that we don’t have a signature win yet,” Conrad said. “We have five wins against top-20 teams, four of those against Mexico, and they, we could argue, are in a down-cycle, and the other one was against Iran. That was in the World Cup. Huge win, super important, got us into the Round of 16, but I don’t think of Iran when I think top-20. So to have this moment, okay, let’s see who we are, what we’re about. We’re facing some adversity.
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“This is such a huge game to the point where Christian Pulisic said ‘we need to play the game of our lives.’”
Juan Pablo Angel sees this match as a golden opportunity for the USMNT.
“I see it as a great opportunity for the US team. If they want to send a proper statement to everybody out there, they’ve got to beat Uruguay, simple as that,” Angel said. “That’s arguably the team that is playing the best football so far in this competition.”
As for the USMNT’s loss, forward Tim Weah was given a red card in the 18th minute, giving it just 10 players for the rest of the game and partially helping Panama maintain possession for the majority of the game.
Melissa Ortiz thinks that the lasting image of the game should play a role for the USMNT against Uruguay.
“They need to just bounce out of that one, let that one go and win it not only for the team, for the country, but also for their teammate who messed up, for Timothy Weah,” Ortiz said. “It’s a brotherhood at the end of the day, and when someone messes up, you still hold each other accountable and still make sure that you all play together and get the result to go forward.”
On the other hand, Uruguay has bulldozed the competition in Group C. On the heels of beating Panama, 3-1, Uruguay dominated Bolivia, 5-0.
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