US eliminated from Copa America with 1-0 loss to Uruguay, increasing pressure to fire Berhalter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gregg Berhalter gave a single-word answer after the United States was eliminated from the Copa America with a loss to Uruguay when asked whether he was the right man to lead the Americans into the 2026 World Cup.

“Yes,” Berhalter said.

Plenty of others are sure to have plenty more to say about his future with the national team.

After a disastrous loss to Panama put the U.S. in a dire predicament, Berhalter's lineup of players from European clubs created precious few opportunities against Uruguay. And when Mathías Olivera found the back of the net for a questionable second-half goal, La Celeste walked out of Arrowhead Stadium with a 1-0 victory on Monday night and the Americans were left wondering how everything had gone so wrong.

“We're all going to do a review of the whole tournament and see where we fell short,” Berhalter said. “It's obvious the Panama game hurt us, put us behind the 8-ball, and I think collectively — the staff, the players, the sporting department — have to look at where do we improve. How do we get better? We know it's a talented team, one with big potential, and we didn't show it.”

Berhalter and the U.S. hoped to show the team had advanced since its round-of-16 elimination against the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup. Instead, the U.S. managed only a 2-0 win over lowly Bolivia and were upset 2-1 by the Panamanians.

“We had a good start and brought a lot of energy but at the end of the day, just not enough quality,” U.S. captain Christian Pulisic said. “I felt like we gave it everything but we just couldn’t score.”

Indeed, the lone goal Monday night came in the 66th minute when Nicolas De La Cruz swung a free kick in front of the American goal. Matt Turner parried a header by Ronald Araújo, who out-jumped defender Tim Ream, but the rebound went right to Olivera and he tapped the ball in with his left foot.

Olivera appeared to be offside on the initial header but the goal stood after a video review.

Three minutes before Uruguay scored, the U.S. was in position to advance.

Bruno Miranda had tied the score for Bolivia against Panama in a game started simultaneously in Orlando, Florida, which meant the U.S. would only need a tie. But Panama went on to a 3-1 victory to claim the second spot in Group C behind Uruguay, and the U.S. was bounced from the group stage for the first time in 20 continental and global tournaments on home soil.

“This is still a young team. Still a lot of potential. But potential doesn't really matter if you go out on the pitch and you don't get the job done,” defender Antonee Robinson said. “Everyone needs to try and up the level, myself included.”

Berhalter was rehired in June 2023 and given a contract through the upcoming World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico. But despite a lineup that included Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, the U.S. failed to even match its last Copa America appearance, when it lost to Argentina in the 2016 semifinals.

During the second half Monday night, the home crowd of 55,460 in less-than-full Arrowhead Stadium began chanting, “Fire Gregg.”

The U.S. next plays September friendlies against Canada and New Zealand.

“It wasn't only Copa America. It's learning from these high-level games we're playing pre-tournament,” Berhalter said, “and having this collective understanding that the margins are so small, and there is very little separating any of these teams.”

Uruguay played without coach Marcelo Bielsa, suspended for sending his team out late for the second half of its first two games. Diego Reyes and Pablo Quiroga were in charge on a mild but humid night in Kansas City.

Berhalter and the Americans knew the difficulty of their situation — Pulisic at one point said they would need to play “the best game of our lives” to advance — and they looked like a team with nothing to lose for most of the first half.

It was one marked by physical play and questionable calls.

Folarin Balogun, who had two goals already in the tournament, bore the brunt of several challenges. He was left calling for help after a collision with Uruguayan goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, then was left rolling on the field after Araújo’s challenge later in the half. Balogun eventually had to leave with a hip pointer and Ricardo Pepi took his place.

Uruguay lost Maximiliano Araújo earlier in the half after a scary collision with Ream near the U.S. goal. He had to be taken off the field on a stretcher, though he was able to move his arms before heading up the tunnel.

In the middle of the chaos was 32-year-old Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega, whose several questionable calls hurt the U.S.

The first came when Ortega began to pull a yellow card and stop play, then allowed it to continue — while still holding the card — as Uruguay nearly scored on an attack. The second came when the U.S. had a clear advantage after a hand ball on Uruguay, but the Peruvian referee eventually blew his whistle and called the play back for a free kick.

“This referee was awful,” Robinson said. “I've never seen a referee, you know, let a quick free kick go while he's got a yellow card in his hand. And it's literally embarrassing. And I hope something happens to him from that.”

Uruguay applied more pressure midway through the second half, then had the Americans in desperation mode after the goal. And while the U.S. had a few good runs and a couple of good opportunities in the box, a team that had such big expectations was unable to find the two goals it needed — or even one.

“The U.S. is a very strong team, but if you push us to play tough, we can do that,” Uruguay's Manuel Ugarte said. "And we can play beautiful (attractive) soccer as well. We adapt to the circumstances of the match.”

AP Copa America coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/copa-americ

Uruguay's Matias Vina, left, celebrates his side's opening goal against United States scored by teammate Mathias Olivera during a Copa America Group C soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffman)

Ricardo Pepi of the United States reacts after the United States was defeated by Uruguay in a Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Ricardo Pepi of the United States controls the ball challenged by Uruguay's Ronald Araujo, right, during a Copa America Group C soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffman)

Uruguay's goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, left, blocks a shot by Antonee Robinson, right, of the United States, during a Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Christian Pulisic, left, of the United States, argues a non-call during a Copa America Group C soccer match against Uruguay, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Uruguay's Ronald Araujo celebrates after his team defeated the United States in an Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Uruguay's Mathias Olivera, right, controls the ball challenged by Christian Pulisic of the United States during a Copa America Group C soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffman)

Coach Gregg Berhalter of the United States greets goalkeeper Matt Turner after losing 0-1 against Uruguay at the end of a Copa America Group C soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffman)

Uruguay's Mathias Olivera celebrates after his team defeated the United States in an Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Uruguay's Cristian Olivera (25) reacts after his team defeated the United States in an Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Coach Gregg Berhalter of the United States directs his players during a Copa America Group C soccer match against Uruguay in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffman)

Antonee Robinson, left, of the United States, and Uruguay's Nahitan Nandez, right, battle for the ball during a Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Ricardo Pepi of the United States, front, and Uruguay's Ronald Araujo battle for the ball during a Copa America Group C soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffman)

Weston McKennie, left, of the United States, and Uruguay's Maximiliano Araujo, right, battle for the ball during a Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Uruguay's Rodrigo Bentancur, left, and Yunus Musah, right, of the United States, battle for the ball during a Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Uruguay's Mathias Olivera, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's opening goal against United States during a Copa America Group C soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffman)

Antonee Robinson, right, of the United States, is defended by Uruguay's Facundo Pellistri, left, during a Copa America Group C soccer match, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Uruguay's Ronald Araujo, second from right, leaps as he celebrates after a goal by Mathias Olivera, right, during a Copa America Group C soccer match against the United States, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Uruguay's Matias Vina, left, celebrates his side's opening goal against United States scored by teammate Mathias Olivera during a Copa America Group C soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffman)

Uruguay's Ronald Araujo (4) celebrates after a goal by Mathias Olivera during a Copa America Group C soccer match against the United States, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Organizers in Arizona and Nebraska turned in more than enough signatures Wednesday to put abortion-related ballot questions before voters in November's election if a sufficient number of them are deemed valid.

They now bring to five the number of states where election officials are validating signatures on abortion measures.

They're already on the ballot in another five, plus a sixth state where an amendment would bar discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes.”

A campaign in one more state is trying to get enough signatures by Friday to add it to the ballot there, too.

The U.S. Supreme Court removed the nationwide right to abortion with a 2022 ruling, which sparked a national push to have voters decide.

Since the ruling, most Republican-controlled states have new abortion restrictions in effect, including 14 that ban it at every stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have laws or executive orders to protect access.

Voters in all seven states that have had abortion questions before voters since 2022 — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont — have sided with abortion rights supporters.

COLORADO

Colorado’s top election official confirmed in May that a measure to enshrine abortion protections into the state constitution, including requirements that Medicaid and private health insurers cover it, made the ballot for the fall election.

Supporters said they gathered over 225,000 signatures, nearly double the requirement of over 124,000 signatures.

Amending the state constitution requires the support of 55% of voters.

Those backing a dueling measure — a law to ban abortion — did not turn in signatures, and the measure will not go before voters.

Abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy in Colorado.

FLORIDA

The state Supreme Court ruled in April that a ballot measure to legalize abortion until viability could go on the ballot despite a legal challenge from state Attorney General Ashley Moody, who argued that there are differing views on the meaning of “viability” and that some key terms in the proposed measure are not properly defined.

Advocates collected nearly a million signatures to put a state constitutional amendment to legalize abortion until viability on the ballot, surpassing the nearly 892,000 required.

Sixty percent of voters would have to agree for it to take effect.

Abortion is currently illegal in Florida after the first six weeks of pregnancy under a law that took effect May 1.

MARYLAND

Maryland voters also will be asked this year to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. The state already protects the right to abortion under state law and Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1. Abortion is allowed in Maryland until viability.

NEVADA

The Nevada Secretary of State’ s office announced in June that a ballot question to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution has met all of the requirements to appear in front of voters in November.

Under the amendment, abortion access for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy — or later to protect the health of the pregnant person — would be enshrined. Such access is already ensured under a 1990 law.

To change the constitution, voters would need to approve it in both 2024 and 2026.

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota voters will decide this fall on a measure that would ban any restrictions on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. It would allow the state in the second trimester to “regulate the pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its effectuation only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.” An abortion ban would be allowed in the third trimester, as long as it included exceptions for the life and health of the woman.

The state’s top election official announced May 16 that about 85% of the more than 55,000 signatures submitted in support of the ballot initiative are valid, exceeding the required 35,017 signatures.

Opponents have sued to try to take the initiative off the ballot.

While not explicitly preserving a right to abortion, a reproductive rights question is on the ballot in New York. The measure would bar discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive healthcare,” along with sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability. Abortion is currently allowed in New York until fetal viability.

The question was on the ballot, then removed in May by a judge who found lawmakers missed a procedural step when they put it there. An appeals court reinstated it in June.

ARIZONA

Abortion rights supporters submitted more than 823,000 signatures on Wednesday to put an abortion access measure before voters in November. That's more than twice as many as required.

Election officials still need to verify signatures, though.

Under the measure, the state would not be able to ban abortion until the fetus is viable, with later abortions allowed to protect a woman’s physical or mental health.

Abortion is currently legal for the first 15 weeks of pregnancy in Arizona. An Arizona Supreme Court ruling in April said enforcement could begin soon for a near-total ban that was already on the books. The governor has since signed a bill repealing that law. It is still expected to be in effect for a time, however.

ARKANSAS

Proponents of an amendment to allow abortion in many cases must gather nearly 91,000 signatures by Friday for it to get on the Nov. 5 ballot.

They said on Wednesday that they were about 5,800 short of the requirement with two days left to circulate petitions.

The measure would bar laws banning abortion in the first 20 weeks of gestation and allow abortion later in pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, threats to the woman’s health or life, or if the fetus would be unlikely to survive birth. Because it allows abortion to be banned 20 weeks into pregnancy, the proposal does not have the support of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which includes Arkansas. The state currently bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with narrow exceptions.

MISSOURI

Missouri abortion rights advocates turned in more than 380,000 signatures — more than twice the required 171,000 — for a measure asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment to guarantee abortion until viability. Local election officials have until July 30 to verify the signatures, then it’s up to the secretary of state to declare whether there were enough.

A group of moderate Republicans have for this year abandoned efforts for an alternate amendment that would have allowed abortion up to 12 weeks, with limited exceptions after that.

Abortion is currently banned in Missouri at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions.

MONTANA

Abortion rights proponents in Montana have proposed a constitutional amendment that would bar the government from denying the right to abortion before viability or when it’s necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.

After a legal battle over the ballot language, the Montana Supreme Court in April wrote its version of the language that would appear on the ballot if enough valid signatures are certified. Sponsors were required to submit about 60,000 by June 21. They turned in nearly twice that many — about 117,000. Counties have until July 19 to verify them, and the secretary of state would have until Aug. 22 to determine whether it goes on the ballot.

Abortion is legal until viability in Montana under a 1999 Montana Supreme Court opinion.

NEBRASKA

Competing abortion measures could be before voters in November after supporters of each said Wednesday they turned in far more signatures than the 123,000 required for ballot access.

One, like those on other states' ballots, would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution until viability. Supporters of that said they submitted more than 207,000 signatures.

The other would write into the constitution the current law, which bars abortions after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Its backers said they submitted more than 205,000 signatures.

Organizers for a third effort did not submit petitions: It would have defined embryos as people, thus barring abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

Some efforts that sought to restrict or ban abortion have also failed to reach ballots. In Wisconsin, the House approved a measure asking voters to ban abortion after 14 weeks, but the legislative session ended without a vote from the state Senate.

Likewise, Iowa lawmakers ended their session without approving a measure asking voters to find that there’s no constitutional right to abortion. Pennsylvania lawmakers previously pursued a similar amendment, but it’s not expected to be added to the ballot this year.

A Louisiana measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution died in committee, one in Maine effectively died when it fell short of receiving the approval of two-thirds of the House and a Minnesota measure was not passed by lawmakers, either.

This story has been updated to correct the number of signatures Arkansas organizers said they still need, and the number of signatures submitted for the Montana proposal.

Arizona abortion-rights supporters deliver over 800,000 petition signatures to the capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

FILE -Lindsey Harmon, President, Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, speaks during a news conference by Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, Monday, May 20, 2024, in Las Vegas. A ballot question that would enshrine Nevada's abortion rights in the state constitution has met all of the requirements to appear in front of voters in November, the Nevada Secretary of State's office announced Friday, June 28, 2024. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)