The United States coach, Gregg Berhalter, stated this Thursday that his team still has a chance of advancing to the quarterfinals of the Copa América after losing against Panama, even though the decisive match will be against Uruguay, one of the favorites.
“We have a lot of respect for Uruguay. We think they are a strong team. But there are many strong teams in this tournament,” said Berhalter in a press conference, downplaying the fact that the opponent will be Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguayan team.
Berhalter explained that, along with his men, he intended to watch the Uruguay-Bolivia match on television, which tonight closes the second day of Group C of the Copa América.
“We are prepared. We know we have to go out and get a result and we are going to do it. We believe in this group. It is a strong team. “I think if we stay focused and execute the game plan, we will be fine,” said the coach.
The United States, which had won its opening match against Bolivia, fell 2-1 to Panama on Thursday after playing almost the entire match with one less man, complicating its passage to the qualifiers, which now depends on its duel with Uruguay.
“If we put in the same kind of effort as in this game, in terms of work and togetherness, we will have a chance to go through. We know it will be difficult, but we will do our best,” he added.
Regarding the expulsion of his striker Tim Weah in the 18th minute for an assault on a Panamanian opponent, Berhalter said that it was “a very stupid decision” by the Juventus player, who will not be able to play against Uruguay.
The United States-Uruguay will be played next Monday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
Tyler Adams also spoke out about Weah’s expulsion
The midfielder of the American team Tyler Adams referred to the expulsion of his teammate Tim Weah, ensuring that it is necessary to “control emotions.”
“From now on, we need to control our emotions in certain situations. I think the team fought for everything after receiving the red card. You definitely cannot blame (the defeat) on the effort,” he stated in an interview with Fox Sports.
Adams said Weah had apologized to his teammates in the locker room for being sent off in the 18th minute for an assault.
“I respect the rest of the team because they have fought for every ball, every duel, every minute, and we still created opportunities after being down to 10 men, which shows our quality,” he said.
Adams played the first half but was replaced by Gregg Berhalter at halftime for a change in defensive system.
“At the end of the day we knew what we were coming to, we played a Copa América, we knew it was going to be a fight,” added the player, who defined the match as an “emotional roller coaster.”
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