Jesse Marsch says USMNT need big win, so when could Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic and company get it?

As the stage is set for the United States men’s national team to compete in the 2024 Copa America with groups now drawn, expectations are also being laid out for them. They will face some of the toughest competition possible in the tournament, drawn into a group with Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia. The USMNT are guaranteed a match with the 11th-ranked team in the world, Uruguay, and if things go according to plan, it will determine whether they face likely Brazil or Colombia in the knockout stage of the Copa America on home soil.

Without World Cup qualifiers, this tournament will serve as a litmus test for the strength of the USMNT, as expectations couldn’t be higher ahead of hosting the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico. While the USMNT reached the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar by drawing a match against England, their exit after a loss against the Netherlands raises questions about what the team needs to do to compete with the world’s best. These are questions that can potentially be answered in the upcoming Copa America.

On the new CBS Sports podcast Call It What You Want, American manager Jesse Marsch spoke about the USMNT’s lack of a statement victory, something that they can get in the Copa America by defeating Uruguay or winning a match in the knockouts.

“In the current form of the way that Nations League works around the world and COVID, [the USMNT] haven’t always had the opportunity to play top teams but they just had Germany at home and they fell flat in that match,” Marsch said on the USMNT’s aspirations. “So, again, I think, for us, before we want to start talking about the potential of winning a World Cup, making a semifinal at home or however we want to speak about it, we need to start to see some wins here at this moment in time in this tournament.”

Marsch is correct in asserting that if we exclude matches against Mexico, which the UMSNT is expected to win at this point, their only victory resembling a statement win was defeating Morocco 3-0 in a friendly before the World Cup. Due to the lack of depth across Concacaf, the United States have not only ascended to become the king of the region, but it’s also challenging for them to be adequately tested within it. If you examine the rosters of the USMNT, Canada, Mexico and even Panama, the USMNT now possesses a deeper core of players from top European leagues compared to their domestic counterparts.

As a result, one of their initial opportunities for a true statement victory will be in the upcoming group stage against Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay. Having already defeated Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay are demonstrating their return to being one of the world’s best teams. Additionally, this match provides a chance to potentially avoid facing Brazil in the next stage of the tournament, assuming they win their group. While facing Colombia is no easy task, they’re not Brazil, which could give the USMNT a better chance at making a deep run in the Copa America.

While Gregg Berhalter is already under contract through 2026, not being able to secure a signature win at the Copa America could raise questions about whether the USMNT can achieve one under Berhalter. To inspire confidence in his leadership and demonstrate that the team can defeat the best in the world, a strong showing at the Copa America is critical.

Recent results

• Friendly: United States 3, Uzbekistan 0
• Friendly: United States 4, Oman 0
• Friendly: United States 1, Germany 3
• Friendly: United States 4, Ghana 0
• Concacaf Nations League: United States 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0
• Concacaf Nations League: Trinidad & Tobago 2, United States 1

Upcoming matches

• Concacaf Nations League semifinals: United States vs. Jamaica, Mar. 21, 2024
• Copa America: United States vs. Bolivia, June 23, 2024
• Copa America: Panama vs. United States, June 27, 2024
• Copa America: United States vs. Uruguay, July 1, 2024