USA vs Uzbekistan score, highlights as scoreline betrays drab USMNT performance in Gregg Berhalter return

Kyle Bonn

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USA vs Uzbekistan score, highlights as scoreline betrays drab USMNT performance in Gregg Berhalter return image

Gregg Berhalter made his return as USMNT head coach in a 3-0 friendly win over Uzbekistan, as Timothy Weah scored early while the pair of Ricardo Pepi and Christian Pulisic finished it off late.

That's about all you can say positive about the United States, though.

Weah's fourth-minute goal put the U.S. in front, but until the late stoppage-time double that eased the scoreline, it was ugly from the hosts. After an eight-month span in which interim head coaches Anthony Hudson and BJ Callaghan had this team clicking, Berhalter's return brought with it a drab offensive output that featured few opportunities up front.

In fact, for large stretches of the match, Uzbekistan seemed the most likely to score as Matt Turner produced a host of quality saves to keep the visitors off the scoresheet.

While the win is nice, there is a lot to work on. Up next is 73rd-ranked Oman on Tuesday, who will bring a similar style to Minneapolis.

The Sporting News is following the USA vs Uzbekistan match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

MORE: Full USMNT roster for September friendlies vs Uzbekistan and Oman

USA vs Uzbekistan final score

  Score Goal scorers
USA 3 Weah (4'),
Pepi (90+1'),
Pulisic (90+4')
Uzbekistan 0 –

Starting lineups:

USA (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Turner (GK) — 2. Dest, 4. Richards (McKenzie, 64'), 13. Ream, 5. A. Robinson (Lund, 81') — 8. McKennie (Tillman, 81'), 6. Musah, 14. de la Torre (Tessmann, 35') — 21. Weah (Aaronson, 64'), 20. Balogun (Pepi, 46'), 10. Pulisic.

Uzbekistan (3-5-2 right to left): 1. Yusupov (GK) — 5. Ashurmatov (Ganiev, 68'), 23. Aliqulov, 15. Eshmurodov— 3. Alijonov, 7. Shukurov (Iskandarov, 82'), 11. Urunov (Turgunbaev, 68'), 9. Hamrobekov, 4. Sayfiev (Nasrulloev, 68') — 10. Masharipov, 14. Shomurodov (Abdukhalikov, 82').

USA vs Uzbekistan live updates, highlights, commentary

FULLTIME: USA 3-0 Uzbekistan

Late goals from Ricardo Pepi and Christian Pulisic make this scoreline easier on the eyes, but make no mistake — the U.S. did not play well this evening.

Early and late goals are nice, and the highlights will be pleasing, but for much of the match, Uzbekistan troubled Matt Turner's goal more than the U.S. did down the other end. Turner's saves kept this from being far more worrying, but the performance is problematic regardless.

Any halftime adjustments that Berhalter may have made did not take effect, and issues in the buildup remained abundant. The forwards were often out of position, the team looked too reliant on width, while the defensive unit was sloppy on the ball.

Improvement is clearly needed after this match regardless of the final scoreline.

USA vs Uzbekistan: Second Half

90+4 min: PENALTY, USA! Malik Tillman clowns a Uzbekistan defender at the top of the penalty area, and is clearly fouled by Umar Eshmuradov, and the referee points directly to the spot!

Christian Pulisic steps up...GOAL! USA! He crashes the spot-kick home with Utkir Yusupov guessing correctly but unable to reach it.

90+1 min: GOAL! USA! The U.S. finally have a second goal, and it's Ricardo Pepi with a vicious finish to secure the victory!

Brenden Aaronson produces a cutback to the top of the penalty area, and while he may have been looking for Sergino Dest just a few steps behind, it falls to Pepi instead who produces a blast. While the shot is placed centrally, the pace does the job, just past the fingertips of Utkir Yusupov who may have gotten a touch but not enough.

89th min: Uzbekistan look the most likely to get a late winner, as the visitors appear to be growing into the latter stages of this game. The U.S. has been really poor this second half, and have very little going forward.

82nd min: This game has completely ground to a halt, which won't boost any evaluation of the U.S. performance. Uzbekistan make a double change, with captain Eldor Shomurodov withdrawn.

78th min: Worrying for the U.S. and for Fulham, Antonee Robinson is down and receiving treatment. Hard to tell what's the matter, but a change will be made. Robinson is an incredibly important player for both club and country, and they can ill-afford to lose him for any length of time.

Kristoffer Lund will make his U.S. debut after just having his one-time switch from Denmark approved. Malik Tillman also replaces Weston McKennie.

73rd min: Chance, USA! Sergino Dest nearly doubled the lead! He weaved his way through the penalty area, but at the last second, as the goal seemed to open up, his shot is deflected heroically! Dest has been bright through this game, getting forward in waves on the overlap.

63rd min: Khojiakbar Alijonov is the first Uzbekistan player booked for tripping Christian Pulisic late after the U.S. star cut onto his right foot.

Tim Weah and Chris Richards are replaced as the two aforementioned U.S. substitutes enter.

62nd min: Chance, Uzbekistan! Matt Turner is forced into another save at his near post! It's Khojiakbar Alijonov who is sprung down the right, and despite being at an extremely tight angle, he produces a decent effort, but Turner has his near post covered well, fumbling the hard-hit shot over the end line.

Chris Richards and Tim Ream combine to clear the ensuing corner. Mark McKenzie and Brenden Aaronson are being readied on the U.S. touchline.

61st min: Chance, USA! Finally a chance on goal for the hosts, as Tim Weah meets a Christian Pulisic cross and attempts to flick a header across inside the far post, but his attempt goes wide.

60th min: In a moment emblematic of this match, Tanner Tessmann looks to spring Tim Weah down the right flank with a deep delivery over the top...but Weah never made the run, so the ball rolls harmlessly out for a goal kick. Just not happening for the U.S. right now, as Uzbekistan are enjoying their time on both ends of the field.

55th min: The U.S. is really struggling at the moment, on both ends of the pitch. Lots of emergency defending after sloppy giveaways in midfield, while the attack appears isolated and frustrated.

Tim Weah expresses some frustration to the assistant referee after a missed handball right in front of the linesman.

49th min: Chris Richards has little option but to foul Jaloliddin Masharipov on the break, and gets the game's first yellow card for his efforts. The set-piece is again dangerous from Uzbekistan, but Umar Eshmuradov's cross has nobody on the end of it.

The TNT broadcast reports that Luca de la Torre has a broken nose, as we speculated earlier. Get well soon, Luca!

Kickoff: As Gregg Berhalter told us yesterday, Folarin Balogun has come off at halftime for Ricardo Pepi, with the former still yet to play for his new club AS Monaco.

HALFTIME: USA 1-0 Uzbekistan

A decent first 45 minutes from the United States who head into the break with a lead, but certainly not as dominant of a performance as they'd like.

The hosts started very brightly, but got bogged down in possession as the half wore on. Uzbekistan grew into the game, and had two decent counter-attack opportunities towards the end of the half, against which Matt Turner stood tall.

"We got the early lead, which is good, but after that, sloppy," Gregg Berhalter tells the TNT broadcast while heading into the break. A good summary, mentioning poor forward positioning as part of his short breakdown. The USMNT coach has plenty to tinker with at the half, chiefly to get his star Christian Pulisic going after a quiet first half.

USA vs Uzbekistan: First Half

45+1 min: Chance, Uzbekistan! MATT TURNER SAVES THE USMNT ONE-ON-ONE WITH SHOMURODOV! The Uzbekistan captain picks Tim Ream's pocket and is clean through on goal, but he takes far too long to produce a shot, and Turner closes him down before making a sensational reflex save!

42nd min: Matt Turner makes a save! Eldor Shomurodov picks up a loose ball and gets on his horse, free on goal but trailed closely by Tim Ream. His shot is low, but Turner has the angle played very well and makes an elementary stop.

40th min: A nervy moment for the U.S. at the back as the hosts have to defend a set-piece after Weston McKennie concedes a free-kick. They close down the potential goal scorers well until giving up a corner after a deflected Khojiakbar Alijonov shot. Tim Ream clears the delivery.

33rd min: De la Torre has exited the pitch and headed down the tunnel, and Tanner Tessmann is being readied to come in. The Celta Vigo man didn't look concussed, and much of the attention seemed to be on his nose, so you wonder if he ended up with a facial fracture.

Tessmann's introduction means there are three FC Dallas academy graduates on the field right now, joining Chris Richards and Weston McKennie. There's another in Ricardo Pepi on the bench as well.

30th min: Ouch. Luca de la Torre collides with Oston Urunov while battling for an aerial ball. The USMNT midfielder ends up with a bloody nose, and Urunov needs treatment as well. There's a long delay as the two get cleaned up on the pitch.

23rd min: Chance, Uzbekistan! Look out! Uzbekistan aren't proving much of an attacking threat, but they come ever so close to equalizing out of nowhere. Khojiakbar Alijonov maraudes forward on his own, weaving through defenders from the right flank, cutting inside on his left and ripping a long-range shot that clangs the crossbar!

Both teams have now struck the woodwork once each.

20th min: The U.S. come close again as Christian Pulisic finds his left-wing partner Antonee Robinson on the overlap, and the Fulham full-back unleashes a fizzing cross that dangerously skates across the face of goal, but there's nobody home to turn it into the back of the net.

Folarin Balogun was the closest to it, but he wasn't on the same page and slowed his run just before the cross came in.

16th min: Chance, USA! The U.S. is continuing to cook in the attacking third, progressing forward through all channels thus far, testing Uzbekistan in every sector of the pitch. A Luca de la Torre ball from deep towards the back post finds the head of Weston McKennie who nods it across to Folarin Balogun, and the new Monaco striker clangs a header of his own off the post!

12th min: Uzbekistan has hardly had a touch on the ball, with half as many passes as the United States thus far.  They look to break but Chris Richards makes an excellent sliding tackle to stop the move in its tracks.

4th min: GOAL! USA! WHAT A RIP BY TIM WEAH! He opens the scoring in emphatic fashion, with an absolute howitzer from a tight angle. Christian Pulisic's ball into the penalty area is deftly brought down by Weston McKennie, and amidst pressure from no less than four defenders with his back to goal, he manages to hold possession and feed Juventus teammate Weah.

The right winger then unleashes a laser that surprises Utkir Yusupov and ripples the net!

3rd min: It's a sleepy start from both teams thus far. The U.S. has held most of the possession, but Uzbekistan are mucking up the midfield and keeping numbers behind the ball. Christian Pulisic is an early target for the U.S. in the buildup, but he can't find a way through. Antonee Robinson blasts a shot from distance miles over the crossbar into Row Z.

Kickoff: Gregg Berhalter's second tenure as USMNT head coach is under way! It's his first match in charge since defeat to the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup Round of 16.

It appears that CityPark will not be sold out this evening, as the approximate 22,500 capacity is not expected to be reached. Not close, even, with a report that only 16,000 are expected to attend.

USA vs Uzbekistan: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more

5 mins to kickoff: Just prior to kickoff, U.S. Soccer held a ceremony on the pitch to honor those from St. Louis to play for the USMNT. An incredible 76 players from St. Louis have earned at least one cap for the U.S. senior squad, which is the highest of any city in the United States, and third-highest amongst markets.

Nine percent of all players to ever play for the United States national team have hailed from St. Louis! Tonight's captain Tim Ream is from St. Louis, a fitting tribute. A true United States soccer hub!

15 mins to kickoff: Weston McKennie tells the TNT broadcast that it's "good for everyone" that Gregg Berhalter is back at head coach. While some fans disagree, the squad has backed Berhalter every step of the way, almost unanimously. It's easy to do when Berhalter is on staff, but they were supporting their World Cup head coach even while his future was in doubt.

30 mins to kickoff: The legend of Tim Ream continues to grow. Now 35 years old, the Fulham defender has earned the captain's armband at a match in his hometown of St. Louis. Ream told The Sporting News back in the aftermath of the 2022 World Cup that he's targeting a spot on the 2026 roster, despite his advanced age.

After bagging another Premier League goal just before departing for USMNT duty, would anyone doubt him at this point?

45 mins to kickoff: A fun little lineup nugget for the United States: there are three different pairs of European club teammates in the USMNT XI today. Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah are now together after both joining AC Milan this summer, Tim Weah also joined Weston McKennie at another Italian club Juventus, and longtime Fulham teammates Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream start together again.

This has never happened before in USMNT history. In fact, they've only ever had two European club teammate pairs on the field twice before, the last being 2012.

1 hour to kickoff: The USMNT lineup is out, and it's exactly how Gregg Berhalter predicted yesterday. The only position in question was the No. 6, and Luca de la Torre shakes off his slight calf injury to get the start. We could still see Tanner Tessmann come in at some point. Tim Ream, the squad's elder statesman, wears the captain's armband.

For Uzbekistan, their lineup is mostly as expected too, but a few tweaks hint at a formational change. They appear to be starting three center-backs, indicating a three-back line as Abdulla Abdullaev enters the fray.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: One interesting storyline over the next few months for the U.S. national team will be to sort out the midfield. At the moment, when at full strength, Gregg Berhalter has four viable starting options for three midfield spots: Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, and Gio Reyna.

Adams and Reyna are currently recovering from injuries, so they will not feature today, but the narrative still lives. With Luca de la Torre or Tanner Tessmann set to play the No. 6, Musah will feature in a No. 8 role, while McKennie will play a sort of No. 8/10 hybrid. Musah has excelled at the No. 6 before, but his deployment at the No. 8 even while Adams is out injured could mean that Berhalter sees him at that spot regardless, and that the real battle could be between McKennie and Reyna down the road.

Musah's performances today and down the road, therefore, will be watched closely. It's a good problem for Berhalter to have!

1 hour 30 mins to kick: Today's venue is CityPark in St. Louis, a soccer-specific stadium built for MLS club St. Louis City SC which seats around 22,500 fans. It broke ground in 2020 and was opened less than a calendar year ago, with a November 2022 friendly between St. Louis City 2 and Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen serving as the arena's first official event.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: One of the biggest things from Gregg Berhalter's pre-match press conference was that he indicated his goal in the upcoming World Cup cycle is to "change soccer in America forever, both on and off the field."

The players seem to be on the same page, as Weston McKennie indicated.

“We set out on a mission four years ago to change the way the world views American soccer," McKennie said. "Now our motto is to change soccer in America forever.”

2 hours to kickoff: Gregg Berhalter will likely at some point — either tonight or Tuesday — give time to Inter Miami midfielder Benja Cremaschi, who is deciding whether to commit to the United States or Argentina on an international level.

Christian Pulisic says he's been impressed with Cremaschi both watching Inter Miami and in training, and Berhalter will want to give him a chance in a U.S. kit as he looks to ward off Cremaschi's club teammate Lionel Messi who is no doubt looking to recruit the 18-year-old as well.

USA vs Uzbekistan lineups & team news

Christian Pulisic, who has begun life at AC Milan with a bang, leads the attacking unit for the United States, Gregg Berhalter confirmed before the match. Folarin Balogun will be deployed at striker, but will come off at halftime as he is yet to play at club level this season after securing a move to AS Monaco just days ago. Ricardo Pepi has ridden the bench for much of his early time at PSV, but he will get a chance to shine in the second half.

The most notable absentee for the United States is Gio Reyna, who was not called after only just returning to Borussia Dortmund training, still recovering from a leg fracture suffered on summer Nations League duty. Also unavailable for selection due to injury are Tyler Adams, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Josh Sargent, and Alejandro Zendejas.

It's thought that Inter Miami midfielder Benja Cremaschi will see time in this international window, but he will not start against Uzbekistan, as Berhalter has decided to go with Luca de la Torre in midfield. De la Torre has proven fit enough to start despite pulling up with a slight calf injury, and with Tanner Tessmann tipped to be his possible understudy, the Venezia midfielder still could play a part this evening.

Cremaschi's club teammate Drake Callender has been called up to the September U.S. squad but will not take part in this match, only joining camp on Sunday after he plays for Inter Miami on Saturday against Sporting KC.

USA starting lineup (4-3-3): Turner (GK) — Dest, Richards, Ream, A. Robinson — McKennie, Musah, de la Torre — Weah, Balogun, Pulisic.

USA subs (12): Horvath (GK), McKenzie, M. Robinson, Scally, Lund, Paredes, Tessmann, Tillman, Cremaschi, Cowell, Aaronson, Pepi.

Uzbekistan's most experienced player is 28-year-old striker Eldor Shomurodov who is at Serie A side Cagliari, on loan from Roma, and captains his international team. He has 37 goals in 66 caps for the White Wolves, including nine in his past 11 appearances, and is one of only two players in this squad to boast double-digit international goals.

The other is playmaker Jaloliddin Masharipov, who was briefly club teammates with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr last season but has yet to find a new home after his contract expired this summer.

There isn't much youth in this Uzbekistan squad, but 22-year-old midfielder Oston Urunov provides some promise, already with 15 international caps and three goals to his name.

Uzbekistan starting lineup (3-5-2): Yusupov (GK) — Ashurmatov, Aliqulov, Eshmurodov— Alijonov, Shukurov, Urunov, Hamrobekov, Sayfiev — Masharipov, Shomurodov.

Uzbekistan subs (12): U. Ergashev (GK), B. Ergashev (GK), Azmiddinov, Nasrullaev, Abdullaev, Turgunboev, Ganiev, Iskanderov, Ismoilov, Saitov, Abdikholikov, Mozgovoy.

How to watch USA vs Uzbekistan

This international friendly between the United States and Uzbekistan will be televised in the U.S. on TNT as part of the new long-term broadcast deal with U.S. Soccer.

It will also be shown on Telemundo and Universo in Spanish.

All three channels are available to stream via Fubo in the United States.

MORE: Watch Premier League matches live with Fubo in USA

  TV channel Streaming
USA TNT, Universo, Telemundo Fubo, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Universo NOW

USA vs Uzbekistan betting odds & lines

As a World Cup knockout-stage participant, the U.S. is understandably favored as they host 74th-ranked Uzbekistan in St. Louis.

The U.S. has tasted defeat just once in four matches against Asian opponents under Gregg Berhalter, dropping a 2-0 friendly result to Japan two years ago in Germany. They beat Qatar in the 2021 Gold Cup and topped Iran at the most recent World Cup, while drawing Saudi Arabia in a pre-World Cup friendly.

Uzbekistan was not far off from World Cup qualification two tournaments ago, failing to reach the playoff stage on goal differential in the 2018 cycle. This past World Cup, they missed out after finishing second behind Saudi Arabia in their second-round group.

  USA
win		 Draw Uzbekistan
win		 Both teams
to score Y / N		 Over / Under
2.5 goals		 USA
-1.5		 UZB
+1.5
BetMGM
(USA)		 -350 +450 +900 +130 / -185 -140 / +100 — —
Sports
Interaction
(Canada)		 -388 +402 +800 +118 / -185 -139 / +100 -118 -114

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.