Tim Weah threw an inexcusable punch, and the United States took a huge blow to its hopes of advancing at the Copa America.
Jose Fajardo beat backup goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in the 83rd minute to give Panama a 2-1 victory on Thursday night over the shorthanded Americans, putting the host country in danger of elimination if it doesn’t beat Uruguay in its first-round finale.
The U.S. played most of the game a man down after Weah was sent off in the 18th minute.
“You never mean to get a red card. Under no type of circumstances,” teammate Tyler Adams said. “He apologized to the team.”
Weah issued a public apology on social media.
“I let my team and my country down,” he said. “A moment of frustration let to an irreversible consequence, and for that I am deeply sorry to my teammates, coaches, family and our fans.”
Weah was sent off by Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton with a straight red card for punching Roderick Miller in the back of the head.
“A silly, silly decision by Timmy that leaves us shorthanded,” coach Gregg Berhalter said.
Folarin Balogun put the U.S. ahead in the 22nd minute but Cesar Blackman tied the score in the 26th.
Horvath, who replaced injured Matt Turner at halftime, couldn’t prevent Fajardo’s close-range shot from going through his arms, and Panama beat the U.S. for just the third time in 27 meetings.
“A win tonight would have put us in a great position, and unfortunately the opposite happened,” American star Christian Pulisic said. “I’m proud of the effort that we responded with after obviously what happened [with Weah], but just really disappointed that’s the way we did it.”
Decisive game vs. Uruguay on horizon
The U.S., which opened with a win against Bolivia, likely will need to beat 15-time Copa champion Uruguay on Monday at Kansas City, Missouri, in order to finish among the top two teams in Group C and earn a quarterfinal berth.
“We believe in this group,” Berhalter said. “It’s a strong team. I think if we stay focused and stick to and execute a game plan, we’ll be OK.”
But failing to advance in the biggest test for the Americans ahead of the 2026 World Cup certainly would raise questions about whether Berhalter should remain in charge.
He got that very query not long after the final whistle.
“If we don’t qualify for the next round, should my job be in the line?” Berhalter said, cutting right to the point. “That’s not for me to determine.”
Weston McKennie appeared to put the U.S. ahead in the fifth minute but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Panama lost to Uruguay 3-1 in its opener and closes group play in Orlando, Florida, against Bolivia, a team with 14 straight Copa America losses after a 5-0 rout by the Uruguayans in the late game Thursday night.
“I’m Super happy with the victory,” Panama said Thomas Christiansen said. “I think it’s also well deserved, because we have read the game rightly. Even though they were missing a player for a long time, you had to score the goals to win this game. And when the score was 1-0, the situation was complicated, even if you played with one more, with the quality that the United States has shown.”
Now, it’s the Panamanians — not the Americans — who have the upper hand to move on.
“I have clear ideas, my team also has clear ideas, about what it is capable of doing,” Christiansen said. “We have achieved three fabulous points”.
A pro-American crowd of 59,145 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was irate after Weah’s ejection, especially after several other calls went against the home team, but there was little question that the U.S. player deserved the red card.
Blackman did not receive a card when he collided in the 12th minute with a leaping Turner, who landed awkwardly on his right arm and was down for several minutes while being tended to by medical personnel.
Balogun scored after a sloppy clearance. Antonee Robinson dribbled into the penalty area and passed to the striker. Balogun exchanged taps with Robinson and curled a shot from the edge of the area off the inside of the far post and in for his fifth goal in 14 appearances.
Blackman tied the score in the 26th when he took a pass from Carrasquilla at the arc, dribbled around Robinson and shot through the legs of Richards and just past Turner’s outstretched arm.
Berhalter made three substitutions to start the second half. Turner left with a bruised left leg and Horvath entered in his first game for club or country since May 4.
Turner’s status for the next match is not known. Weah won’t dress because of the red card.
The Americans benefitted from a video review in the 63rd minute after Cameron Carter-Vickers, another substitute, was whistled for taking down Fajardo in the area. The call was reversed when a video review showed Fajardo already had crossed the ball when Carter-Vickers made contact.
Panama held possession for a staggering 73.6 per cent of the match and outshot the U.S. 13-6, leaving the big crowd with little to do except express its displeasure at the officiating.
Uruguay 5, Bolivia 0
Darwin Nunez scored in his seventh straight international match, and Uruguay routed Bolivia on Thursday night to move to verge of a quarterfinal berth in the Copa America.
Facundo Pellistri put the Uruguayans ahead in the eighth minute and Nunez doubled the lead in the 21st with his 10th goal in his last seven games for Uruguay and 13th in 25 matches overall.
Maximiliano Araujo scored his second goal of the tournament in the 77th, and Federico Valverde (81st) and Rodrigo Bentancur (89th) added goals as Uruguay romped through a ragged Bolivian defence.
Uruguay, seeking its record 16th Copa America title, is 2-0 for six points with a plus-seven goal difference and would advance with at least a draw on Monday against the U.S. at Kansas City, Missouri, or perhaps even a loss. The U.S. has three points and plus-one goal difference and Panama three points and minus-one difference.
Bolivia has lost 14 consecutive Copa America matches dating to 2015 and has one win in its last 32. With no points and a minus-seven goal difference, it has almost no chance of advancing going into Monday’s match against Panama at Orlando, Florida. Bolivia is likely to be eliminated in the group stage for fourth straight time.
MetLife Stadium’s upper deck was nearly empty and the site of the 2026 World Cup final appeared to be half full. Two years early, Lionel Messi and Argentina drew a sellout crowd of 81,106 for a 1-0 win over Chile.
Bolivia made six changes from its opening 2-0 loss to the U.S. and Uruguay quickly went ahead.
Nicolas de la Cruz played a long free kick down a flank and Ronald Araujo outjumped Luis Haquin to centre a header. Mathias Olivera couldn’t reach it and the ball bounced before Pellistri nodded it in for his second international goal.
Nunez, who took seven shots in the first half, scored off a perfect weighed pass from Maximiliano Araujo on a quick counterattack. Maximiliano Araujo got his goal after Bolivia turned over the ball in midfield, fed by de la Cruz.
Source Agencies
