By Mary Isakunle
The United States was eliminated from the Copa America on Monday following a 1-0 loss to Uruguay, while Panama secured a spot in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory over Bolivia. The hosts faced a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Panama earlier and needed to at least match Panama’s result against Bolivia to progress in the tournament. However, the US team, led by coach Gregg Berhalter, couldn’t pose a serious threat to Uruguay, who topped the group and advanced to the next stage. Berhalter expressed deep disappointment with the team’s performance, acknowledging that they didn’t reach their full potential in the tournament. He emphasized the need to analyze what went wrong and why, stating that they fell short of expectations. Despite a promising start with high energy, the US team struggled to find the quality needed to succeed. The team’s hopes dwindled as Panama took the lead against Bolivia, and even though Bolivia equalized early in the second half, the US team couldn’t secure the necessary result to progress.