The US men’s national team now know their Copa América 2024 assignment.
Thursday night’s tournament draw in Miami dropped the USMNT into Group C alongside Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia for this summer’s big event on US soil, an outlook both challenging and promising for this pivotal test on the road to the 2026 North American World Cup.
Uruguay look like early favorites to top the group. Currently led by cult icon Marcelo Bielsa, they have started Conmebol World Cup qualifying like a house on fire, defeating both Brazil and Argentina – the latter at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires – by 2-0 scorelines to claim second place in the standings after six matches played. MLS standouts Facundo Torres (Orlando City SC), Diego Rossi (Columbus Crew) and Cristian Olivera (LAFC) are currently part of Bielsa’s player pool.
La Celeste currently sit 11th in the FIFA World Rankings, one slot ahead of the US. Panama are 41st and Bolivia are 85th.
USMNT schedule
The Yanks open their Copa América schedule vs. Bolivia on June 23 at AT&T Field, the enormous home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys reportedly in leading contention to host the World Cup final. They then shift to Atlanta for a clash with Panama, who knocked the USMNT out of the 2023 Gold Cup, at Atlanta United’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on June 27.
Then comes the group’s showpiece fixture on July 1: United States vs. Uruguay in the large, noisy confines of Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, the former home of Sporting KC (way back when they were the Wizards).
Path forward
As head coach Gregg Berhalter cautioned in remarks to media at the draw, the USMNT can’t take their first two matches for granted. But if results go chalk, first place in Group C will be determined by that showdown in KC against the relentless high pressing and ferocious intensity of La Celeste.
“We always knew that was going to be a possibility. That was obviously the hardest team in Pool 2,” Berhalter told FOX Sports at the draw. “For me, it's an opportunity. They're going to be a very aggressive team, a really good challenge for our group. We play them on the final game of the group phase, so it could set the stage.
"We have to do a good job setting up the first two games. In a way, we're controlling our own destiny by playing them last. If you take care of business in the first two games, which will be difficult games, you set up winner takes all.”
There are real consequences to that. The top two finishers in each of the four groups advance to the single-elimination knockout phase, and Group C’s survivors will meet their Group D counterparts in the quarterfinals.
Conventional wisdom ranks Brazil and Colombia as clear favorites in Group D, in that order, so for the USMNT, winning the group could mean avoiding the five-time world champions at that stage. First place would lead them to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for the quarters – a familiar locale in which they’ve tasted Concacaf Nations League glory – and second place takes them to Arizona's State Farm Stadium.
“You know what's lurking around the corner in Group D, most likely,” said Berhalter, “so you want to try to finish first.”
Proving ground
At first glance, it creates a holistic set of evaluation points for a USMNT seeking to leap from a side gaining respect on the global stage to one that's truly reckoned with. They’ll bear the burden of ‘favorite’ expectations against Bolivia and Panama, then aim to prove they’re ready to go toe to toe in a high-stakes clash with South American royalty in Uruguay.
Uncertainty and adversity dial up in the knockout stages, where generally only elite sides remain. But with a golden generation of maturing talent and loud home fans expected to provide wind at their back, this Copa América is shaping up as an ideal proving ground for Berhalter and his Yanks.
It’s an opportunity they would do well to seize – because, high-profile international friendlies aside, it’s their only such chance before the World Cup arrives (host nations auto-qualify).
