da marjack bet: GOAL rates each USMNT player at a disappointing Copa America, with negatives outweighing positives
da jogodeouro: Let's be honest from the start: no player on the U.S. men's national team will leave this summer's Copa America feeling particularly good. No one will be happy with how they or this team played. From top to bottom, this Copa America was a disaster.
The U.S. fell so, so short of expectations that it all felt like a bad dream. Just about verything that could have gone wrong did and, as a result, the USMNT was out in the group stage.
That's despite being handed a favorable group featuring Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay. A win over Bolivia got them off on the right foot, but we all know what happened next. The 10-men U.S. fell apart against Panama and then, against Uruguay, Gregg Berhalter's side couldn't quite muster the goals needed to advance.
It was almost exclusively doom and gloom, and some earned more blame than others. Following the USMNT's Copa America exit, GOAL breaks down ranks player performances, across the board.
GettyBrenden Aaronson – N/A
Chucked in as an 86th-minute sub against Bolivia, which isn't enough time to earn a grade.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMalik Tillman – N/A
To his credit, was very active for the less than five minutes he was on the field, but that's not enough to earn a rating.
Getty ImagesTim Weah – 1/10
He'll be thinking about that one split-second fist swing for a long, long time.
Weah's red card was the unequivocal turning point for the USMNT, who never recovered from the winger's dismissal. Weah, normally this team's calming force, lost his head for one brief moment, yet the fallout will have long-lasting consequences.
Weah will be back, but this really stings. Weah didn't single-handedly cost them this tournament – plenty of others deserve blame, too – but the winger's red card was the defining moment of this disaster.
GettyRicardo Pepi – 3/10
So many chances.
Pepi had several massive opportunities to score against Bolivia, but he just couldn't put the game away. Then, against Uruguay, the USMNT's best scoring chance fell to him, but the PSV striker couldn't generate enough power on his header to threaten.
It was a tough tournament for Pepi, who just didn't have his finishing boots on when the U.S. needed them most.