The Copa America 2024 show is over for USMNT following a narrow loss over Uruguay. With Panama winning against Bolivia to squeeze into the top 2, Gregg Berhalter’s side slipped down Group C to endure a premature exit from the tournament. While ardent fans react to their latest disappointment, former player Alexi Lalas has taken a dig at Christian Pulisic for their failure to become ‘better USMNT players.’

The loss became a topic of discussion on Fox Sports among the panel of Clint Dempsey, Carli Lloyd, and Alexi Lalas. Subsequently, during the debate, an argument broke out about who exactly was responsible for the loss. Interestingly, Lalas put the whole blame on the USMNT players, despite acknowledging the talent of this golden generation. “I think they are better soccer players, but ultimately I don’t think that they are better USMNT players,” said the former American international.

Lalas claimed that each player is unique on the individual front but when it comes to representing the national team, they are invisible. A fellow pundit Dempsey rather took a dig at Berhalter. Notably, USMNT took just 8 shots with just 3 being on target and a 49% possession, compared to Uruguay’s 12 shots, with 5 on target and a 51% possession. Both sides were good on the defensive front yet mostly it was a rough game. Interestingly, many raised fingers over the referee Kevin Ortega for making controversial calls against USMNT’s favor.

In fact, during half-time, the Peruvian referee was slammed by the likes of JJ Watt, Carli Lloyd, Alexi Lalas, and Taylor Twellman on the internet for his poor officiating. However, star player Christian Pulisic rather agrees with Alexi Lalas and takes the blame on himself and the team.

Christian Pulisic questions USMNT’s lack of ‘quality’ against Uruguay

As the final whistle blew, Christian Pulisic addressed the USMNT’s exit from Copa America. The AC Milan forward admitted that even though the team had a strong start and brought a lot of energy, they ultimately lacked ‘enough quality’ to secure a win. Pulisic felt that they gave everything they had but were unable to find the solutions to score. “I felt like we gave everything but we just couldn’t find the solutions to score,” he said.

Besides accepting responsibility for the loss, Pulisic expressed frustration with the referee’s decisions during the match. He emphasized that dealing with such situations is part of the tournament, and the team must learn to cope with it. Like the entire fandom, Pulisic was also saddened by the team’s failure to secure a place in the knockout stages. For now, they shall give a shoulder to each other in this tough time of criticism.