Tyler Adams says the confidence has returned to the United States' camp in the wake of their shock defeat to Panama.
The USA lost 2-1 in Atlanta on Thursday, with Panama taking advantage after Timothy Weah was sent off early on.
That defeat leaves the Copa America hosts in a perilous position in Group C. They are ahead of Panama on goal difference, but the Stars and Stripes must play in-form Uruguay in their last match, while Panama face Bolivia, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.
But in spite of the pressure on Gregg Berhalter's team ahead of Monday's encounter with Marcelo Bielsa's side, Adams says there is a positive mood in the camp.
"We're all confident again, you know, when we have 11 players on the field that we can go toe to toe with anybody," Adams told reporters.
"The training was good today. I think we saw the intensity. And we're going to need that from the first minute against Uruguay."
Antonee Robinson is well aware of the stakes.
"It's definitely going to come down to a massive effort from the team," he said.
"I mean, if we're looking at realistically, there's a chance that this is our last game in the tournament, so there's no reason to hold anything back. We're all going to have to give everything in this game."
Uruguay hammered Bolivia 5-0 in their last outing, with Bielsa's team highly likely to top the group, albeit that could result in a last-16 meeting with Brazil, who are second in Group D.
Darwin Nunez is the focal point of Uruguay's attack under Bielsa, though the former Leeds United coach is not concerned with the forward's sometimes-erratic finishing.
"All players who are consistent goal scorers know how to finish," Bielsa said.
"But then they are also human and so they will have times where that capacity will be more evident and other times when it is less evident.
"Darwin is a player who does not need much support. The only thing that concerns me is whether he gets in positions, which he does extraordinarily well, to score, impact games, finish the moves, or choose where to place the shot."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
United States - Folarin Balogun
Former Arsenal attacker Balogun scored a stunner against Panama, and also went close to a sensational second.
With his back-up, Ricardo Pepi, underperforming his 2.27 expected goals (xG), the pressure is on Balogun to lead the USA's line. He is doing an admirable job so far, with two goals in as many matches, so do not be shocked to see him keep up that form.
Uruguay - Darwin Nunez
Nunez has scored in his first two Copa America matches.
Only four Uruguay players have scored in their first three matches in the competition: Pedro Petrone (1923), Mario Bergara (1959), Vladas Douskas (1959), and Jorge Oyarbide (1967).
MATCH PREDICTION: URUGUAY WIN
The USA might need the points, but the Opta supercomputer is backing Uruguay.
Uruguay have not started with three victories in a row since 1959, when they defeated Ecuador (4-0), Brazil (3-0) and Argentina (5-0).
These teams will face each other in the Copa America for the first time since 1993, when Uruguay won 1-0.
La Celeste have won four of their last five matches against CONCACAF opponents in the competition (1L), and kept a clean sheet in three of those five games.
Uruguay's two victories against the USA were in the only two non-friendly matches they have played (3-0 at the Paris Olympics in 1924 and 1-0 in the 1993 Copa America).
In fact, Uruguay are the only CONMEBOL team that have not been able to beat the United States while playing in North America.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
USA - 21.6%
Uruguay - 56.1%
Draw - 22.3%
Messi a doubt for Copa America quarter-final, claims Argentina boss Scaloni
Lionel Messi is a doubt for Argentina's Copa America quarter-final tie against Ecuador, so says Lionel Scaloni.
With the holders having already booked their progression to the last eight, Messi, who is the record appearance maker at the Copa America, sat out Argentina's final Group A match against Peru.
His absence was not felt as Lautaro Martinez's double propelled Argentina to their third win of the tournament.
However, ahead of Thursday's knockout clash with Ecuador in Houston, Scaloni suggested the 37-year-old may miss out again.
"We will wait a few hours and make a decision. Another day is always better. We'll decide on the basis of the response we get today," Scaloni said on Wednesday.
"We'll try to get him to play and if he doesn't, we'll try to find the best thing for the team.
"I'm going to talk to him today, I think it's fair that he takes his time and trains as much as he can."
Should Messi not make it, then Scaloni will likely lean on the tournament's leading scorer Martinez, who has netted four goals so far despite starting only one match.
Regardless of Messi's fitness, Argentina, who beat Ecuador 1-0 in a pre-tournament friendly, are big favourites to progress to the semi-finals, with Opta's predictive model handing them a 68.4% chance of victory.
Yet Scaloni knows Ecuador must not be underestimated.
"Ecuador are a well-drilled side with good players and a good coach," he said.
"They are one of the best teams in the Copa America. They have a real chance of challenging for the title.
"Anyone can easily reach the final and compete with the best in the world.
"Yesterday's game between Colombia and Brazil was of a very high standard. Uruguay are also doing very well."
Argentina have won their last eight matches, including friendlies, equalling the longest winning streak under Scaloni.
A win over Ecuador will set a new record for La Albiceleste since Scaloni's debut as coach in September 2018.
Copa America Golden Boot: Martinez leading the charge, can Nunez catch up?
The Copa America is well under way, with the group stages already done and dusted.
Argentina made light work of progressing from Group A, even though Lionel Messi had to sit out their last fixture.
And key to their success has been the goalscoring form of Lautaro Martinez, who is making up for some bad misses at the 2022 World Cup.
Brazil also progressed, with Vinicius Junior their talisman as expected, while Darwin Nunez is the key attacker for Marcelo Bielsa's free-flowing Uruguay.
Ahead of the knockouts, how is the Copa America Golden Boot race shaping up?
Lautaro Martinez (four goals)
We'll start with the leader in the race, and that is Martinez.
The forward had an outstanding season for Inter, who he led to the Scudetto while finishing as top scorer in Serie A, scoring 24 goals in 33 appearances, and comfortably outperforming his 17.6 xG.
However, he came into the build-up to this tournament in poor form for his country, having not netted for Argentina in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
But he scored a double in a 4-1 win over Guatemala in a pre-tournament friendly, and even though he has started just one of Argentina's matches so far, he has netted four times.
Martinez is also the Argentina player with the most shots (nine). In fact, since his debut in the Copa America in 2019, Martinez is the tournament's top scorer with nine goals (two in 2019, three in 2021, four in 2024), four more than Messi and Luis Diaz (five each).
It remains to be seen whether Martinez will have to settle for a super-sub role once Messi returns to the fold, but with Ecuador next up, and then a potential semi-final against either Canada or Venezuela, Argentina's path to the final is opening up nicely, and Martinez should fancy his chances.
Vinicius Junior (two goals)
Fresh from winning the Champions League with Real Madrid (and scoring in the final – again), Vinicius came into the Copa America as Brazil's talisman.
With Neymar absent through injury, the onus is on the winger to provide the creative spark and clinical edge to drag what looks like a more dogged, workmanlike squad through to the latter stages.
However, he will be absent for Brazil's clash with in-form Uruguay, who are arguably the favourites going into that tie, due to picking up two yellow cards in the group stages.
Vinicius' booking tally matches his goal tally at the tournament so far, with both of those having come in the first half of a 4-1 rout of Paraguay.
But with Brazil only having a maximum of two games left, will he have time to catch Martinez?
Darwin Nunez (two goals)
One player who could end Vinicius' hopes altogether is Uruguay forward Nunez.
The Liverpool striker is an erratic finisher, but he is an integral part of Marcelo Bielsa's free-flowing attack.
The 24-year-old may never be ultra-clinical, (he had a shot conversion rate of 10.2 per cent in the Premier League in the season just gone) but his pace, tenacity and work rate make him the ideal Bielsa folly up top.
Indeed, he has converted just one of his six Opta-defined big chances so far at this Copa America, but his two goals have come from an xG of 1.8, showing he's about on track.
If Uruguay can get past Brazil, they will face Colombia or Panama in the semi-finals. Nunez should be locking in on that Golden Boot.
Salomon Rondon (two goals)
An unlikely name on this list is Venezuela veteran Rondon, but his two goals – scored in wins over Mexico and Jamaica – helped his side top Group B with nine points.
Venezuela will face Canada in the quarters, and while Jesse Marsch's team are a surprise package in the last eight, they have proved they can be wide open defensively at times.
Only three players can better Rondon's 1.98 xG across the tournament so far, while the 34-year-old has had 13 shots, which matches Martinez's total.
He is getting into good positions and having plenty of attempts. If Venezuela indeed get the better of Canada, who's to say Rondon cannot claim this prize?
Daniel Munoz, Eduard Bello, Maximiliano Araujo (two goals)
There are three other players tied on two goals, though perhaps they are a tad more unlikely to challenge Martinez.
Munoz grabbed his second goal of the tournament in Colombia's 1-1 draw with Brazil, though as a right-back, he cannot be expected to keep up the scoring run.
Bello, meanwhile, has scored his two goals from just three shots, so that does not seem particularly sustainable.
Araujo, on the other hand, has netted twice from an xG of just 0.6, so he is overperforming.
What about Messi?
Not only did Messi finish as joint-top scorer at the 2021 Copa, he was also the leading assister and then, 18 months later, he went on to lead Argentina to World Cup glory, scoring seven goals in the process, from 6.6 expected goals – only Kylian Mbappe (eight) netted more times in Qatar.
Messi has scored 13 Copa America goals, which puts him joint-seventh on the all-time list, alongside fellow Argentina great Gabriel Batistuta.
However, he has been unable to add to that total so far.
He took on the role of creator in Argentina's opening win against Canada, and has had seven shots in total, but so far, no luck.
Kroos not feeling nostalgic, aiming to end career with Euro 2024 glory
Toni Kroos says he is not feeling nostalgic about the possibility of his career ending on Friday when Germany face Spain in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.
Kroos came out of international retirement to play for Germany on home soil at the European Championships, but announced in May that he would be retiring from football at the end of the tournament.
The German won LaLiga before earning a sixth Champions League title in his farewell game for Real Madrid and is now aiming to finish his career by lifting the Euros trophy for the first time.
With a place in the next round not guaranteed, Kroos could play his final game on Friday should Germany lose to Spain, but that is not something he is thinking about.
"It is the second most important title you can win, and it would have a huge importance for me," he said. "If I did not see having the chance to do it with the team, I would not have [come back].
"It would be a sensational end, but I have also considered the possibility of it not happening. I am not nostalgic at all and did not bring any treats for [journalists] either.
"I do not expect it to be my last game, so I assume we will see each other again."
Kroos has been an influential figure in the side already. In the group stage, he completed 95% of his passes (411/431), the highest completion rate by a player to attempt 300+ passes on record in the competition.
After a string of disappointing major tournament results in recent years, with Germany being knocked out of the last two World Cups in the group stage, Kroos is confident they can go all the way this time around.
"There were big doubts about the tournament before it started," he added. "That's normal after the previous tournaments we had.
"So we've now reached a minimal goal and, whatever the result, we won't be speaking about a tournament catastrophe here. But anything that comes now is not a bonus.
"We, as a team, have the goal to win the tournament. So, it is not a bonus, but we are at a stage in the tournament we wanted to reach.
"We should be satisfied, but the demand within the team is to progress further, and we are convinced we can do it."
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