United States crashes out of Copa America with loss to Uruguay in Kansas City

The United States Men’s National Team lost for the first time ever in Kansas City, a 1-0 scoreline in favor of Uruguay. The result doomed the U.S. to a group-stage elimination at the 2024 Copa America.

A largely pro-USA crowd of 55,460 filled GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and provided a strong atmosphere, just a taste of what World Cup matches might feel like in 2026. But the product on the field did not match.

The first half was marred with stoppages and several questionable calls from the lead official, who became a focus of yells from the crowd and much of the match commentary.

There was also one serious stoppage, when Uruguay’s Maximiliano Araujo was hurt after colliding with a teammate and falling to the ground, where his head and neck may have hit the field. He was carried out alert, on a stretcher, wearing a neck brace.

There was one moment of hope when Bolivia leveled the score (1-1) of its game against Panama while the United States and Uruguay remained tied 0-0. Word of Bolivia getting an equalizer percolated through the stadium and fans quickly started to cheer — the U.S. would’ve advanced if those results held.

But moments later, Uruguay went ahead.

Uruguay scored in the 66th minute on a tap-in from Mathias Olivera. He appeared to be offside on the initial header by Ronald Araujo. VAR did not overturn the call, saying Olivera was even with a U.S. defender’s foot when the header was made.

The United States could not find joy in the final third, nor did the home team ever really threaten the back of the net. And Panama’s 3-1 win all but ensured the U.S. team’s elimination.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.