KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The future of the U.S. in the Copa America tournament will be decided after 90 minutes against Uruguay on Monday night.
So, too, could the future of Gregg Berhalter leading the American team.
After an embarrassing loss to Panama, which began with Timmy Weah's red card that forced the U.S. to play a man down most of the game and ended with a failure by its back line to preserve a hard-fought draw, the Americans have been backed into a corner. While there are paths through Group C that do not rely upon them beating the South America power at Arrowhead Stadium, that would be the most stress-free avenue for the host nation to advance to the knockout rounds.
“There can't be more pressure on the outside than what we put on ourselves as staff and as players, and how we want to perform,” Berhalter said Sunday. “The external stuff we can't control. All we can control — all I can control — is how we prepare the team to play confident and have a strong performance, and that's really my focus right now.”