How USA plans to move forward without Tim Weah and — potentially — Matt Turner

ATLANTA — If the U.S. men's national team is going to advance to the knockout stage of Copa América, it will have to do so without Tim Weah.

In the 18th minute of the USMNT's second group stage match against Panama on Thursday — which ended in a shocking 2-1 loss for the Americans — Weah was issued a yellow card when he swung his arm at defender Roderick Miller. The color of the card was quickly changed to red upon VAR review, leaving the U.S. to play the remaining 72 minutes of the match with 10 men against a remarkably physical opponent.

Weah's actions served as a monumental turning point in the game, and ultimately had a direct result in the outcome. The USMNT were prepared to face Panama's physicality, but as Tim Ream said afterward, "when you have to match that a man down, it becomes more difficult. You're now working for an extra man, and everybody has to take on that responsibility."

Weah, a popular player among this group, took full responsibility for his actions and apologized to the team in the locker room and issued an apology to fans on social media.

"Timmy knows the mistake he made," captain Christian Pulisic said. "That's it. He's gonna learn from it. Yeah, it sucks, it's not the way you want to put your team in that position. It sucks. It hurts. It's just, at minimum it's a lapse of judgment. It's one simple second, you know?"

Weah has been a regular starter at right wing for Gregg Berhalter since at least the 2022 World Cup qualifying cycle. The USMNT has depth at the position, but replacing him against Uruguay — who crushed Bolivia 5-0 on Thursday and sits comfortably atop Group C — will not be easy. The USMNT's third and final match against La Celeste is on Monday night in Kansas City at Arrowhead