The dream of winning an international trophy has taken a brief pause for the Americans. Uruguay wiped the floor with the USMNT in the group stages. This eventually led to the Stars and Stripes getting eliminated from winning the Copa America. Mathias Olivera sealed their fate and not even Christian Pulisic could respond to keep his team afloat. In the end, it was another heartbreak for the squad. Even Clint Dempsey could not help but feel disappointed.
Uruguay was going to be a tough opponent in Copa America anyway. After all, they entered this matchup against the USMNT with two wins and not enduring a loss. Meanwhile, the Christian Pulisic-led squad was at one win and a loss. They needed the victory as well as the advantage in goal difference to usurp Panama in Group C. However, it was just not fate.
Clint Dempsey knew what was at stake and saw all of this unfortunate chaos unfold during the Copa America broadcast. He could not help but be stunned at the way the USMNT lost and got eliminated, via FOX Soccer.
“I'm at a loss for words. It's so frustrating to see. You have that you're rooting on and you want to do well. At the same time, where have we come since 2022? You qualify for the World Cup, you get out of the group. Then, where have we progressed? We haven't. That's the most frustrating part. This is our golden generation and it looks like we're wasting it. With 2026 coming up, you're never going to get this opportunity again,” Dempsey declared.
66 minutes into the match, Mathias Olivera saw an opportunity to score. Matthew Turner was unable to make a campaign-saving catch. It also did not help the USMNT that both Chris Richards and Tyler Adams had been given yellow cards which made them less aggressive than usual.
Clint Dempsey urges the USMNT to have more urgency after the Copa America elimination
It is not very often that the USMNT gets to have very talented players on its squad. They got to qualify from 1990 up to 2014. But, a fall from grace happened in the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted by Russia. It was a wake-up call and in 2022 they looked refurbished with Christian Pulisic leading the way. However, Dempsey posits that the USMNT has not developed anything new since 2022. He even outlined that the team should do better because the country is hosting the biggest sporting event in 2026.
“I mean, in '94 we had it. We're going to have it here but then again, you don't know when that next time is going to come. When are you going to have another chance to do something special in the World Cup and on home soil?” he concluded.
If it takes a Mathias Olivera goal and a loss to Uruguay to wake up the USMNT, so be it. Hopefully, they turn the jets back on such that this golden generation gets to build on their Round of 16 appearance in 2022. It will take a lot of player development before that happens but the country is always just there to support them.
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