Following the USA’s shock 2-1 loss to Panama after key man Timothy Weah saw red early for unbelievably punching the back of an opponent’s head, this final group stage encounter is a must-win, with anything short of that leaving the Stars and Stripes reliant upon a hapless Bolivia (L2) taking something from their game. The situation prompted USA captain Christian Pulisic to boldly claim that his side must “play the game of our lives” in order to progress in this crunch clash.
The hosts, FIFA’s 11th best-ranked side, seem to be an all or nothing kind of team in this competition as whilst they have never won the Copa América, they have either been eliminated at the group stage (twice) or finished fourth in their four prior tournament appearances. Their historical record against Uruguay, which only dates back to their first ever meeting in 1986, doesn’t necessarily raise expectations of securing that win to guarantee progression, although they do slightly edge the all-time record (W2, D4, L1).
Making the trip to Kansas City, Uruguay can afford to breathe a sigh of relief given that it would take an almighty goal swing and two unfavourable results to see them finish outside of the top-two after winning their opening games (W2). Given that none of the seven prior H2Hs were settled by greater than a single-goal margin, it seems that Uruguay will feature in their ninth knockout phase across the last ten Copa Américas.
Whilst Uruguay (FIFA rank #14) travel here with underdog status, only the foolish would underestimate them given their incredible pedigree in this sphere. No nation has won more Copa Américas than Uruguay’s 15, whilst Marcelo Bielsa’s men have also scored at least three more goals (eight) than any other side after the conclusion of two rounds across all four groups in this competition, the last five of which came without reply.
Players to watch: Folarin Balogun hasn’t taken long to get up and running in this tournament, netting before half-time in both of the USA’s games so far. As for Uruguay, Maximiliano Araújo, who plies his trade in Mexico for Toluca, has scored two of his three international goals at this tournament (G2, A1).
Hot stat: After managing Chile and Argentina, Bielsa faces the USA with a third different nation – his three prior H2Hs all produced under 2.5 goals (W1, D1, L1).
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