U.S. men’s soccer team’s Copa América on precipice of disaster after 2-1 loss to Panama

If you don’t take care of the things that are within your control, you’re even more susceptible to things beyond your control.

It’s an eternal lesson in soccer, and one the U.S. men’s national team needed no reminding of heading into Thursday’s Copa América group stage game against Panama. But it bit them anyway, because star forward Tim Weah’s reckless red card early in the first half sent the game cascading toward a 2-1 U.S. loss in Atlanta.

A soap opera of a first half started in the fifth minute when Weston McKennie scored off a free kick play, but it was called back on a video review because Tim Ream was offside in the buildup.

In the 12th, U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner was slammed into by César Blackman, with American defenders Antonee Robinson and Ream heading in their direction. Blackman was not sanctioned beyond the call of a regular foul.

And in the 16th, Weah swung a fist at Panama’s Roderick Miller off the ball. Referee Ivan Bartón initially gave Weah a yellow card, then upgraded it to a direct red after a video review.

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It was a shocking lapse of judgment from Weah, one of the Americans’ top stars, and TV viewers at home saw a replay that made the contact clear. He will miss the Americans’ group stage finale against Uruguay in Kansas City on Monday (9 p.m., FS1, Univision 65, TUDN, ViX).

“He apologized to the group, and I think he understands what a difficult position he put the group in,” U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter said. “Nonetheless, it happened and as a result, we lost this game. And we’re going to have to move on and figure out how to win the next game.”

It was already going to be not just the Americans’ biggest game of the tournament, but their biggest game since the 2022 World Cup. Uruguay is a soccer powerhouse, with stars at both ends of the field who’ve made the Celeste one of the favorites to win the tournament. They dismissed Panama 3-1 in their opener, then routed Bolivia 5-0 on Thursday.

If the U.S. fails to advance out of the group — and a tie vs. Uruguay wouldn’t be enough if Panama beats Bolivia — the already-loud chorus of calls for Berhalter’s dismissal will grow even louder.

“That’s what we want to do,” Berhalter said of the Uruguay game, “but pressure is part of what we sign up for. That’s part of this job. Representing your national team is a tremendous honor, and there’s a lot of expectations that come along with it.”

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Not long after Weah’s ejection, Folarin Balogun swung momentum back to the U.S. in the 22nd minute with a dazzling goal off a give-and-go play with Robinson, delighting the crowd of 59,145 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

But Blackman tied the score four minutes later with a low shot that evaded Turner’s dive. One can wonder if the effects of that collision hindered Turner’s reaction.

The first half remained testy, with nine fouls called on Panama and three on the U.S. by Salvadoran referee Ivan Bartón at intermission. Robinson was booked in the 33rd, and Panama’s Eduardo Guerrero was booked in the 45th.

Balogun came closest of anyone to scoring in the rest of the period, hitting the crossbar in the 48th, though he was offside.

Turner departed at the start of the second half for Ethan Horvath, one of three changes U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter made at that point. Turner was diagnosed with a left leg injury.

Centerback Cameron Carter-Vickers replaced attacking midfielder Gio Reyna, and defensive midfielder Johnny Cardoso replaced Tyler Adams in a like-for-like swap.

The moves shifted the U.S. into a 3-5-1, with the hope that outside backs Joe Scally and Robinson could provide just enough spark from wide roles to spring Balogun or Christian Pulisic for a goal.

Disaster nearly struck in the 63rd when José Fajardo went over a slide by Carter-Vickers in the 18-yard box and hit the deck. Bartón initially signaled for a penalty kick, but the video review officials told Bartón to take another look. He saw there wasn’t much contact, and reversed the call.

Balogun was subbed off in the 72nd minute for Ricardo Pepi, not long after Balogun whipped a tough-angle shot just wide of the far post from the left side of the 18-yard box.

Pepi had a big chance in the 81st when Weston McKennie served him up a cross from the right side, but he headed it softly and straight at Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.

Two minutes later, Fajardo made the U.S. pay dearly for it. Abidel Ayarza jumped on a loose ball on the right side of the 18-yard box, sent it toward Fajardo, and he thumped it past Horvath.

The Americans got lucky when Panama’s Adalberto “Coco” Carrasquilla was ejected in the 88th for tackling Pulisic from behind. But the Americans couldn’t find another goal, with McKennie coming closest on a header of a free kick in the 94th.

“It was an extremely disappointing result, but the effort was there,” Berhalter said, “and if we put in the same type of effort in this [next] game, in terms of the work, effort, and the togetherness, we’ll have a shot to beat Uruguay. We know it’s going to be difficult, but we’re going to give it our best.

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