USA vs. Uruguay result: USMNT survives with scoreless draw in World Cup tuneup against strong opponent

Kyle Bonn

USA vs. Uruguay result: USMNT survives with scoreless draw in World Cup tuneup against strong opponent image

The United States held on for a scoreless draw against Uruguay in its final international friendly of the summer, managing to keep a clean sheet against a talented South American squad.

Uruguay manager Diego Alonso rotated his squad from the win over Mexico days prior, deploying a lineup full of backups. Still, the likes of Edinson Cavani, Federico Valverde, and Matias Vecino eventually saw the field alongside young star Darwin Nunez. Chances were conceded, and Uruguay had opportunities to score, but a clean sheet is a fantastic result for the United States nonetheless.

The U.S. got great performances from Tim Weah on the flank, while Weston McKennie returned to the starting lineup months after a serious ankle injury. Sean Johnson made key saves in goal, including a world class stop on Nunez from point-blank range in the second half.

The United States fell apart towards the end as Uruguay brought on its stars and the U.S. ended up with fringe players on the field, but overall, two straight solid performances against World Cup caliber opponents will give U.S. fans hope heading into the CONCACAF Nations League games.

Sporting News will be following the match live and providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

USA vs Uruguay final score

  1H 2H Final
USA 0 0 0
Uruguay 0 0 0

Goals:
None

USA vs Uruguay live updates, highlights from World Cup friendly

FULL-TIME: USA 0-0 Uruguay

An exciting and entertaining match ends scoreless, somehow. There's more positives than negatives from the United States in this one, despite the shaky finish to the match.

While the hosts conceded chances, the U.S. eventually picked up a clean sheet in both its World Cup tuneups against fellow World Cup opponents. That's a great result no matter how you slice it.

90+3 min: CHANCE, Uruguay! Oh my...this game deserves this miss from Uruguay. It's baffling to see how the South Americans aren't in front. On a breakaway, Darwin Nunez had the goal GAPING, and instead of shooting with just Johnson to beat, he inexplicably tried to square it to Edinson Cavani. The pass bobbled to Cavani, and the legendary striker somehow put it wide. An incredible miss.

89th min: CHANCE, Uruguay! Diego Rossa surges forward through the middle, and he's free on goal, but at the last second his space is closed down by Walker Zimmerman. It's a bad look for Erik Palmer-Brown who saw Rossi go right on by.

84th min: This game is one of the sloppiest final-third performances by both sides you'll ever see. Great attacking play wasted by both sides on a regular basis. This time it's Edinson Cavani who crops up from a tight angle but can't settle the pass and sees the ball squirt under his feet.

80th min: CHANCE, USA! Antonee Robinson earns a U.S. corner, and it's looped to Walker Zimmerman who heads right into the gut of Fernando Muslera. A wasted opportunity, as Zimmerman got extremely free.

Luca de la Torre comes on for the United States, a seventh substitution negotiated by the U.S. after Uruguay went over the six agreed upon changes. He comes on for Musah.

72nd min: Joe Scally is down injured, and the referee takes the opportunity for a drinks break. The discussion of Uruguay's substitutions continues, but there's not much Gregg Berhalter can do, even if Uruguay have bent the rules and sent on one too many players. It's a friendly.

68th min: Diego Rossi now coming on for Uruguay, alongside Pellistri. A full brigade of reinforcements for the South American side.

A U.S. Soccer official is chatting with the fourth official about how many substitutions Uruguay has made today.

63rd min: CHANCE, Uruguay! WHAT A SAVE BY SEAN JOHNSON! Point blank range and he stonewalls Darwin Nunez. The substitutes had a great effect for Uruguay, putting the U.S. defensive unit under pressure, but Johnson makes an absolutely world-class save right on the doorstep.

59th min: With the hour mark approaching, it's that time in friendlies where the mass substitutions arrive. Both teams are readying a host of replacements, with Antonee Robinson coming on for the U.S. alongside Haji Wright. Real Madrid's Champions League winner Federico Valverde comes on alongside Matias Vecino for Uruguay, two very strong changes. Edinson Cavani comes on moments later.

The play on the pitch is starting to get chippy.

50th min: USMNT runs a weird counter after everyone stopped in anticipation of a foul, but no whistle came and the U.S. took advantage. It results in a low Pulisic rip that goes wide.

47th min: Brenden Aaronson already involved in an attack for the United States, and wins a free-kick after somehow ending up with his boot locked up with the boot of Ugarte who fouled him. Fox commentators John Strong and Stu Holden have a good chuckle about that one.

Aaronson needs a new boot after it, maybe the laces ripped by the coming together. Pulisic wastes the free-kick into a spot with nobody there.

46th min: Second half is under way, with the three changes for the United States mentioned earlier. For Uruguay, Diego Godin comes off in favor of Matias Olivera.

Time to watch Brenden Aaronson go to work in midfield again. He was fantastic with freedom against Morocco.

HALFTIME: USA 0-0 Uruguay

It's scoreless at the break, but the game has been a fun, back-and-forth affair. Uruguay pummeled the U.S. early, and since, the U.S. has been the better side, but there were still chances on both ends. It's a wonder how this game is still scoreless.

Berhalter informed the media pre-match that Weston McKennie would only play 45 minutes, so it's likely he will come off at halftime. Berhalter confirms that on his Fox halftime interview, saying that Aaronson will come into the midfield, as well as Erik Palmer-Brown and Paul Arriola coming on as well. Arriola will replace Weah, who played the full 90 against Morocco and was bright here in the first half.

45+2 min: With halftime beckoning, the U.S. tests Muslera one more time as Tyler Adams delivers a curler that the Uruguay goalkeeper handles with ease. Pulisic faked everyone, including Adams, out with a dummy.

41st min: CHANCE, Uruguay! Well, how has Uruguay botched that??? It's a horror throw-in by the U.S. that results in a two-on-one chance, run by Caceres, but his feed to Nunez was poor, behind the young striker, and the chance evaporates. The goal was begging, the U.S. has made too many silly mistakes such as that.

34th min: Uruguay is forced into a first-half substitution, with Atletico Madrid defender Jose Gimenez forced off with an injury. Sebastian Coates is the one to come on as the U.S. has a corner.

The corner is the absolute weirdest, eventually filtering out to Tim Weah on the far side who's dispossessed, leading Uruguay to a dangerous counter that ends in a terrible cross. It's a chaotic passage of play that's a  microcosm of this match so far.

32nd min: It's been all USA since the water break, with significant pressure forward. Tim Weah is the star for the USMNT on many of the attacks, making perfectly timed runs down the right flank.

25th min: A break to allow a Uruguay player to tie his boots becomes a water break. Stunning that this game is 0-0, with so many chances on both sides.

23rd min: CHANCE, Uruguay! Goodness, how is this game still 0-0?? Uruguay comes down and forces a save of Sean Johnson, with Ugarte ripping a right-footed effort with pace. Johnson leaps to make a diving save, with the ball destined for the top-right corner.

20th min: CHANCE, USA! This game is starting intensely for both sides. Jesus Ferreira crops up in the penalty area with a tight-angle chance, but his shot is stopped by the ever-present Fernando Muslera. It's a great opportunity for the U.S. but the striker can't cash in. That's a recent theme.

Moments later, it's another miss from Ferreira, a cross headed over. It's a high degree of difficulty, whipped in from DeAndre Yedlin forcing Ferreira to react in milliseconds. The U.S. now on top after hanging on 10 minutes prior.

14th min: CHANCE, USA! Now the United States comes close! A well-worked attack from Musah and Weah works a corner (with a shout for a handball waved away), and Weston McKennie goes for glory with a bicycle kick. It was an awkward attempt, and while he got it close, the looping shot goes over the bar.

The chance started from a wonderful Joe Scally tackle.

10th min: CHANCE, Uruguay! The home side is under seige! It's DeAndre Yedlin off the line!!! An acrobatic scissor kick from Nunez whiffs, but the ball falls to another Uruguay attacker, and the shot beats Johnson but Yedlin is there to clear. It's a flood of Uruguay pressure.

9th min: CHANCE, Uruguay! Uruguay is using switches to the right side effectively, and it works a header for aerial presence Diego Godin, which flashes wide for a Uruguay corner. Scally again nowhere to be found when the switch comes to his side.

5th min: CHANCE, Uruguay! Joe Scally steps in to make a challenge, and he's caught high. In the space behind,a fabulous cross from Caceres to the feet of a streaking Darwin Nunez goes begging, as the young star can't get a flying foot to it. That's a warning sign for the U.S. Scally can't get caught that high up the pitch, but even more worrying, Nunez was wide open, and a more inch-perfect cross sees this game in favor of Uruguay. Can't happen.

2nd min: Like against Morocco, U.S. comes out with a really aggressive press for the first few minutes, and like Morocco, it works in the opening minutes. Weah wins the ball on the right flank, and Pulisic tries to feed in Scally down the left side of the penalty area, but the ball is marshaled out of play.

1st min: We're under way in Kansas City! Kickoff at 5:06 p.m. ET, 4:06 p.m. local time in Kansas. The United States with a big test against a rotated Uruguay squad that dismantled Mexico a few days ago.

In other CONCACAF news, just a few minutes ago it was announced that Canadian players are striking tonight and will not play in their friendly against Panama. Big, and potentially disruptive, news for the U.S. northern neighbors.

U.S. players are making a statement too — they are wearing orange armbands on the field in Kansas City after sending a letter to Congress asking for action to stop gun violence.

4 mins to kick: A big storyline tonight is the performance of Sean Johnson in goal for the United States. With Matt Turner and Zack Steffen assumed to be locks for the World Cup if healthy, the third goalkeeper spot is wide open. Johnson gets the nod tonight with a chance to perform.

15 mins to kick: Pre-match warmups are complete. The match is just 15 minutes away!

30 mins to kick: Uruguay has arrived and is getting set for the match. It looks like there's a solid contingency of Uruguayan support as well!

65 mins to kick: The USMNT lineup is out, and Jedi Robinson cannot pass fit, leaving Joe Scally to start at left-back in his place. The rest is as expected, with Sean Johnson in goal and Ethan Horvath backing him up.

The Uruguay lineup is also in, with Edinson Cavani on the bench in favor of young rising star Darwin Nunez. Head coach Diego Alonso is experimenting with a three-center-back system, as Matias Vina and Guillermo Varela will push high as the wing-backs.

Full lineups below.

77 mins to kick: There's speculation that Uruguay will rotate its squad, likely meaning talisman striker Edinson Cavani won't be named. However, there's hope that rising star and hot transfer commodity Darwin Nunez could be deployed.

90 mins to kick: Due to roster sizes, three players on the United States need to scratch three players for the match against Uruguay just like they did against Morocco. Today, Matt Turner, Cristian Roldan, and George Bello will not dress for the match, as (presumably) healthy scratches.

120 mins to kick: The United States topped Morocco with relative ease, and many of Gregg Berhalter's tactical and personnel experiments paid off. What will the U.S. cook up against Uruguay?

USA vs. Uruguay lineups

Defender Miles Robinson and midfielder Djordje Mihailovic are not on the roster due to injury.

Gregg Berhalter confirmed that Weston McKennie, who played 18 minutes for the USA vs. Morocco coming off a serious ankle injury, will start against Uruguay, but won't play more than 45 minutes. Antonee Robinson is struggling with a non-COVID illness and was a game-time decision, with Joe Scally ultimately replacing him at left-back. DeAndre Yedlin will start at right back in place of Reggie Cannon.

Berhalter stated that against Uruguay he will go with Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams next to McKennie for the first half, and Brenden Aaronson could be an option off the bench as McKennie will only go 45 minutes, according to the head coach.

USA starting lineup (3-5-2): Johnson (GK) — Scally, Zimmerman, Long, Yedlin — McKennie, Adams, Musah — Pulisic, Ferreira, Weah.

USA subs (11): Horvath (GK), A. Robinson, Carter-Vickers, Palmer-Brown, Cannon, Acosta, de la Torre, Aaronson, Morris, Arriola, Tillman, Wright.

Uruguay have been flying under new manager Diego Alonso, who has now won all five matches since taking over (11-1 goal difference). La Celeste are coming off a comprehensive 3-0 win over Mexico in midweek. The only injury concern is Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo who left the match after just 30 minutes with a groin issue.

Winger Facundo Pellistri was a constant threat, forward Edinson Cavani was clinical, and center mids Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) and Matias Vecino (Inter Milan) were ever present in Uruguay's 4-1-4-1 formation. However, all three of those players sit today as Alonso rotates the squad, with a final match against Jamaica set for Saturday, June 11 at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo as the send-off for home fans.

Instead, it's young Darwin Nunez up front to take the baton from Cavani, alongside Maxi Gomez in a 5-3-2 lineup.

Uruguay starting lineup (5-3-2): Muslera (GK) — Vina, Caceres, Gimenez, Godin, Varela — Gorriaran, Ugarte, Aramabarri — Nunez, Gomez.

Uruguay subs (11): Rochet (GK), Sosa, Coates, Suarez, Olivera, Vecino, Torreira, Valverde, Pellistri, Rossi, de la Cruz, Cavani.

How to watch USA vs. Uruguay

  • Date: Sunday, June 5
  • Time: 5 p.m. ET
  • TV channel: Fox
  • Spanish-language TV: Univision, TUDN
  • Streaming: fuboTV

Sunday's match between the United States and Uruguay from Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas will be broadcast in the United States on Fox (English) and on Univision and TUDN (Spanish).

All three channels are streamed on fuboTV

USA vs. Uruguay betting odds

Odds via Sports Interaction (Canada only)

The odds in this match are almost dead even, with the U.S. given a boost after the win over Morocco and being on home soil. Uruguay is down from its previous heights, but still ranks 13th in the world and has star players at big clubs across the lineup.

Interestingly, the oddsmakers believe that the game will be low scoring, with the under heavily favored. Evenly matched clubs in international friendlies often do tend to see fewer goals, as there are fewer overall minutes of true play before mass substitutions through the second half serve to break up the game flow.

  Sports
Interaction
USA Win +180
Draw +200
Uruguay Win +145
Both teams
to score (Y / N)
-123 / -127
Over / Under
2.5 goals
+115 / -159
USA +0 spread
(pick'em)
+100
Uruguay +0 spread
(pick'em)
-132

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.