USA Soccer face a make or break match against Uruguay at Copa America; England bailed out by Jude Bellingham

Happy July! The business end of both the Euros and the Copa America are officially here, and with the knockouts officially underway in Germany and the last eight right around the corner in the U.S., this makes for a jam-packed check-in to start the week. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest.

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Monday, July 1
🇪🇺 Euros: France vs. Belgium, 12 p.m. ➡️ Fox
🇪🇺 Euros: Portugal vs. Slovenia, 3 p.m. ➡️ Fox
🌍 Copa America: USMNT vs. Uruguay, 9 p.m. ➡️ FS1
🌍 Copa America: Bolivia vs. Panama, 9 p.m. ➡️ FS2

Tuesday, July 2
🇪🇺 Euros: Romania vs. Netherlands, 12 p.m. ➡️ FS1
🇪🇺 Euros: Austria vs. Turkiye, 3 p.m. ➡️ Fox
🌍 Copa America: Brazil vs. Colombia, 9 p.m. ➡️ FS1
🌍 Copa America: Costa Rica vs. Paraguay, 9 p.m. ➡️ FS2

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⚽ The Forward Line

🇺🇸 All or nothing for the USMNT

The U.S. men’s national team face a make-or-break game on Monday in Kansas City against Uruguay, against whom they likely need a win to advance to the Copa America quarterfinals.

It is no small task — Gregg Berhalter has just five wins against top 20 opponents during his time as the USMNT head coach, four coming against Mexico and the fifth coming against Iran. Uruguay have also been the most impressive team at the Copa America so far, outscoring their opposition eight to one, which makes this one of the biggest games in Berhalter’s tenure and an all-important measuring stick of the team’s progress with the 2026 World Cup just two years away.

The head coach will likely be forced to make two changes to the lineup, the first coming after Timothy Weah picked up a red card early in the team’s 2-1 loss to Panama on Thursday. Berhalter name-dropped Haji Wright and Brenden Aaronson post-match last week but made no commitments in his pre-match comments on Sunday, while a second could come in goal after Matt Turner picked up an injury on Thursday. The shot-stopper came off at halftime and has done limited training since the game, but Berhalter’s lack of commitment to his status implies that Ethan Horvath could be in the mix to play against Uruguay after replacing Turner against Panama.

Despite the high-stakes of the moment, the USMNT appears to be taking a calm approach, likely in response to the Panama game. Weah’s 18th minute red card demonstrated that the team were not up for the task of a physical game, a surprise considering the familiarity of a regional opponent, and Pulisic downplayed his post-match comments that the U.S. needed to play the “best game of our lives.” Even amidst the tranquil optimism, though, Pulisic snuck in a hard dose of reality — the “best game of our lives” is easier said than conjured up.

• Pulisic: “To be honest, thinking back, I don’t think that’s true. I don’t think we have to play the best game of our lives, maybe I was a bit emotional. I think we have to play a really strong game. I know we have a good enough team that if we do that and put on a really good performance — that means coming out with intensity from the start, not letting emotions get the best of us, sticking to our game plan and trusting that we have a good enough team and that, eventually, over the 90 minutes, grab a goal and go ahead and win the game. I think we just need a really strong performance. The best game of our lives would be great but that doesn’t happen often.”

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🔗  Midfield Link Play

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England sneak into the quarterfinals

England survived their worst performance of Euro 2024 on Sunday and advanced to the quarterfinals, with Jude Bellingham scoring just moments before the final whistle to begin their come-from-behind victory over Slovakia.

The Three Lions continued a worrying trend in their round of 16 matchup, dominating possession but struggling to score goals despite the high-profile attackers on the roster. Their possession advantage barely mattered once Ivan Schranz scored in the 25th minute to give Slovakia the lead. The likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden failed to land a single shot on target until the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, when Bellingham rescued England moments before what felt like certain elimination — and he did so in style.

The Real Madrid player scored on a bicycle kick from inside the penalty area, living up to the patron saint of hope he shares a name with. Bellingham’s impressive strike sent the game to extra time, when Kane was able to put the match to bed with a goal just one minute after the break.

Jude the Apostle, though, was also the patron saint of impossible causes, surprisingly apt for England’s Euros journey so far. Many will argue that the late goals from Bellingham and Kane paper over the cracks in Gareth Southgate’s game plan, which once again had many people wringing their hands over team selection and the head coach’s substitution strategy — or lack thereof. It leads Nigel Reo-Coker to accuse Southgate of not being brave enough to alter his lineups and make fixes when things are not going according to plan.

• Reo-Coker: “It’s an English thing. When I was younger, it was the same thing. [Frank] Lampard, [Steven] Gerrard, [Paul] Scholes would always play, regardless of their forms domestically, or if they didn’t even play well in that game. … Are [managers] going to be brave enough to do that?”

Southgate and company will have much to correct when they take on Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Saturday. They may enter as the heavy favorites considering the talent in their squad, but the Three Lions have yet to look like a championship-winning team, which could be troublesome against a Swiss team that ousted reigning champions Italy with relative ease over the weekend. Hosts Germany also qualified for the last eight with a 2-0 win over Denmark, while Spain trounced tournament newcomers Georgia 4-1 to advance in the competition.

🔗  Top Stories

🇺🇸 USMNT look-ahead: Here’s a look at the possible lineup for Monday’s game, the USMNT’s chances against Uruguay and the high stakes for Berhalter during his second stint in the job.

🇲🇽 Mexico crash out: Mexico exited the Copa America in the group stages after Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Ecuador, a sign that the once-impressive national team has taken a step back.

🇦🇷 No Messi, no problem: Lionel Messi missed Argentina’s clash with Peru with an injury on Saturday, but the reigning Copa America champions still cruised to a 2-0 victory and topped Group A.

🇧🇷 Brazil bounce back: Brazil picked up their first win of the Copa America on Friday with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay, with Vinicius Junior scoring a brace.

🔢 NWSL power rankings: The North Carolina Courage and the Seattle Reign are on their way up, while the Portland Thorns took a hit in the latest batch of the NWSL power rankings.

✍️ Dest stays at PSV: The USMNT’s Serigno Dest is sticking around at PSV, signing a long-term deal with the Dutch side after spending last season on loan from Barcelona.

✅ MLS check-in: Inter Miami is doing just fine without Lionel Messi, while Atlanta United scored a must-see game-winning goal against Toronto.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• Euro 2024: France vs. Belgium, Monday, 12 p.m.
  💰 THE PICK: Kylian Mbappe to score (+160) — France may not have impressed much from a goalscoring standpoint but as long Kylian Mbappe’s around, it’s hard to count them out. The captain is their likeliest candidate to play a big role in any game, especially a knockout game as Les Bleus begin to chart a path to their first European Championship since 2000.
• Copa America: Brazil vs. Colombia, Tuesday, 9 p.m.

💰 THE PICK: Brazil and Colombia to tie 1-1 (+600) — The Copa America group stage comes to a high-profile finale on Tuesday with one of the most anticipated matches of the first round between Brazil and Colombia. The latter have impressed with two wins so far while the former got off to a slow start with a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica, but kicked things into high gear with a 4-1 win over Paraguay. Each side has their strengths and weaknesses and so they might be evenly matched come Tuesday, which would be good news for Colombia — they would top the group in that case.

📺 What’s on 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.

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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+.