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Hey there! We might have the day off from international competition but with the quarterfinals about to start at both the Euros and Copa America, there’s much to discuss. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Wednesday, July 3
🇺🇸 MLS: New England Revolution vs. Atlanta United, 7:45 p.m. ➡️ FS1
🇺🇸 USL League One: Richmond Kickers vs. Forward Madison, 8 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network
Thursday, July 4
🌍 Copa America: Argentina vs. Ecuador, 9 p.m. ➡️ Fox
🇺🇸 USL Championship: Colorado Springs vs. FC Tulsa, 9 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network
🇺🇸 MLS: LA Galaxy vs. LAFC, 10:30 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV+
⚽ The Forward Line
🇺🇸 USMNT crash out of Copa America…now what?
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The death knell rang for the U.S. men’s national team’s Copa America run on Monday, when a 1-0 loss to Uruguay ensured they would exit the tournament in the group stage. The damage was already done with the team’s 2-1 loss to Panama last week, but the earlier-than-anticipated exit from the tournament forces questions about the direction of a once-promising team with less than two years to go until a World Cup on home soil.
Many fingers have pointed in the direction of head coach Gregg Berhalter, who has largely failed to inspire since returning to the job last September. He backed himself his post-match press conference, answering a question about whether or not he is still the right person for the job with a simple “yes,” but the mood has soured considerably on Berhalter. He was supposed to offer stability and continuity when he was re-hired but a year and a half after a round of 16 exit at the World Cup, the team has made little progress since — and perhaps even taken a step back. Here’s Chuck Booth on why the USMNT needs a coaching change.
- Booth: “Since the World Cup in 2022, the same questions remain. The United States haven’t shown that they can defeat marquee teams who aren’t named Mexico and they’ll have very few games remaining to do that now after falling in Copa America. After losing to the Netherlands in the World Cup with essentially the same roster, the expectation was that players would learn from that pain and do better the next time around, and while they did in some ways against Uruguay, this tournament left everyone wanting more. If anything, the USMNT regressed despite having players almost exclusively playing their club soccer abroad. It’s not a talent issue, it’s a leadership issue.”
There’s no timeline for a decision on Berhalter’s future one way or another, though U.S. Soccer will now conduct a review of the team’s performance at the Copa America. The stakes will be high to get the next decision right, whether it’s good news for Berhalter or not — from the players to the staff, everyone is treating the 2026 World Cup as an opportunity to create a seminal moment for the sport in the country. An impressive on-field showing from the USMNT is a focal point of that plan, even with the player pool’s imperfections.
Outside of selecting the best possible coach to get the best out of the group, it will also require the players to actually meet their potential. While Berhalter’s USMNT is still missing a statement win against a top 20 team, what’s more troubling is that they squandered some games that they were the oddsmakers’ favorites in, like the Copa America loss to Panama and a defeat to Trinidad and Tobago in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals last November. Getting the best out of this pool of players — considered by many to be the team’s most talented group ever — will require meeting the moment on smaller occasions, as well as the larger ones.
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🏆 Brackets set at Euros, Copa America
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The quarterfinals are set at both the Euros and the Copa America, which means several high-profile matchups are coming up this weekend.
The Copa America quarterfinals begin on Thursday with Argentina’s clash with Ecuador, a match in which the former are unsurprisingly the heavy favorites. Questions around Lionel Messi’s fitness loom large over this game — he was treated for a leg injury during last week’s 1-0 win over Chile and sat out Argentina’s 2-0 win over Peru on Saturday. He returned to training on Tuesday, per ESPN, signaling that he could play a role against Ecuador. Argentina might be fine without him, though — the reigning champions are on the easier side of the bracket, with Venezuela and Canada making up the other quarterfinalists on that side.
The headlining act of the quarterfinals, though, is Uruguay’s meeting with Brazil. Brazil earned the toughest matchup of the last eight by finishing second in Group D after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Colombia, which makes this game a meeting between two sides in differing form. While Uruguay enter the quarterfinals after outscoring the opposition nine to one, Brazil have not really made the most of an attacking unit led by Vinicius Junior. That includes an underwhelming performance against Colombia, when their attack mustered very little in terms of quality chances, according to Chuck Booth.
- Booth: “It felt like Vini Jr. was turning a corner by scoring a brace against Paraguay but not enough of an impact has come from Lucas Paqueta and Rodrygo alongside him. An attack that was fluid and embodied the beautiful game has sputtered only producing 0.25 xG. Colombia have a great defense but Brazil not being able to breach it from open play despite having two-thirds of Real Madrid’s front line leading the attack is nothing but a disappointment. Raphinha’s free-kick to open the scoring was excellent but more of that inventiveness is needed in the build-up for Brazil to show that they can win this edition of Copa America.”
Meanwhile at the Euros, the quarterfinals begin with a bang on Friday with a face-off between the tournament’s most impressive teams — Spain and Germany. Spain have been the most consistent team at the competition so far, topping a competitive group that included Italy and Croatia and outsourcing the opposition nine to one in the meantime. Julian Nagelsmann, though, is leading a successful refresh for Germany, who won their first knockout match in eight years with their 2-0 victory over Denmark on Saturday. While Toni Kroos’ last international tournament goes according to plan, the hosts have been able to rely on youth — Jamal Masiala is the Euros’ joint-top scorer with three goals.
They are on the same side of the bracket as Portugal and France, who will host a rematch of the 2016 final in their last eight matchup. Portugal survived a 0-0 battle with Slovenia — and Cristiano Ronaldo’s missed penalty in extra time — in a penalty shootout, while France benefited from their second own goal of the competition to oust Belgium. England are easily the top dogs on their side of the bracket but after several unimpressive performances, they have much to prove against Switzerland while a thrilling Turkiye team will take on the Netherlands.
🔗 Top Stories
🇺🇸 USMNT rewind: Here’s one last batch of player ratings from the USMNT’s doomed Copa America run, plus takes from Morning Footy’s Charlie Davies, Tony Meola and Nico Cantor. Plus, here’s a look at the fixes the USMNT beyond a new head coach, including moving on from veteran center back Tim Ream.
🇪🇺 Euro quarters: Here’s a ranking of the quarterfinal matchups at the Euros, plus France’s areas of improvement as they target their first Euro trophy since 2000.
🇧🇷 Brazil struggles: Brazil may have qualified for the Copa America quarterfinals, but this team has yet to impress at the tournament.
🏆 NWSL Championship venue: This year’s NWSL Championship will take place at Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium, the first soccer specific stadium built for a women’s team.
⭐ MLS All-Star roster: Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez headline the MLS All-Star roster, while Federico Bernardeschi stops by Morning Footy to celebrate his selection to the All-Star team and the season so far with Toronto FC.
✈️ Grosso to Red Stars: Sandra Herrera reports that Canada’s Julia Grosso will sign for the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars after two years with Juventus.
🔴 Odegaard on Arsenal: Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard pops into Morning Footy about being a leader and raising the bar after last season’s title charge.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- Copa America: champions
💰 THE PICK: Uruguay to win the Copa America (+500) — Argentina may still be the oddsmakers’ choice to win the whole thing, but Uruguay are amongst the most impressive teams at the Copa America so far. With three wins out of three in the group stage, including a hard-fought win over the USMNT, they seem to have what it takes to get through the hard side of the bracket. Marcelo Bielsa’s side remain as compelling a dark horse as ever and seem poised to cause some trouble in the business end of the tournament. - Euro 2024: champions
💰 THE PICK: Spain to win Euro 2024 (+390) — Some of the top-tier teams have struggled en route to the quarterfinals of the Euros, but Spain have had no such problems. They have outscored their opponents nine to one so far at the competition, looking like a top contender to win the whole thing. They will have to get through the tough side of the bracket to get there, which includes a showdown with Germany on Friday. They might just have what it takes to overcome those obstacles, though, making them one of the teams to keep an eye on in the knockouts.
📺 What’s on CBS Sports Golazo Network
CBS Sports Golazo Network
☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started on the network’s flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you’ll never have to miss an episode.
📦 Box 2 Box (Weekday afternoons): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+.
3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Thursday): The leading women’s soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. The NWSL season is back and our coverage of the women’s game is stronger than ever. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT, NWSL and European domestic season all year long.
👟 Kickin’ It (Tuesdays): CBS Sports Golazo Network’s unfiltered interview show releases Tuesday. Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch.
⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and friends cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.
🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can’t-miss goals from the day’s action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.
📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.