WATCH: Christian Pulisic loses his control over referees call, as Uruguay beat USA in Cop America 2024

The USMNT vs. Uruguay Copa America 2024 final group stage match was predicted to be intense. The host United States was eliminated after placing third in Group C, while Uruguay's defender Mathias Olivera scored a goal to lead his team into the Copa America quarterfinals.

Panama defeated Bolivia 3-1 to finish second with six points, three ahead of the United States, while Uruguay emerged victorious from the group after winning all three games. The United States needed a win in Missouri on Monday to have the greatest chance of progressing, and they started brightly, but the South Americans came into the game as the first half progressed, with Darwin Nunez coming close to scoring.

Although Marcelo Bielsa's squad is still very strong, Gregg Berhalter and his group are fighting valiantly to go to the next round. But because of the controversial decisions made by referee Kevin Ortega against Christian Pulisic and his colleagues, things are getting tough for the home team. Meanwhile, NFL hero JJ Watt and several prominent US soccer players criticised Ortega's refereeing after the official's shocking Boca Juniors controversy arose again.

Watch here the video:

Christian Pulisic heated with the ref 😭 pic.twitter.com/7YlnM1U1sl

— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) July 2, 2024

USA missed many chances during the game

Antonee Robinson described it as "amateur hour," but regretted the Americans' inability to rise above the referee. In the first half, there were much more fouls (14) than shots (five), and the referee appeared to lose control of the game. This also prompted supporters to question why there wasn't more stoppage time before half-time. 

Uruguay took the lead when Olivera slammed in a rebound after US goalkeeper Matthew Turner parried Ronald Araujo's header back into the box. The goal came after a long VAR review for offside. The second occurred when the United States had a clear advantage due to a handball on Uruguay, but the Peruvian referee ultimately blew his whistle and brought the play back for a free kick.