The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) will conduct a full review after a disappointing Copa America on home soil that “did not meet expectations.”
The United States men’s national team beat Bolivia 2-0 in their opening match, but then lost 2-1 to Panama and were beaten 1-0 by Uruguay as they battled to stay in the competition.
That result, combined with Panama’s victory over Bolivia, sent them out of the group stage.
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With just two years to go until the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, national team head coach Gregg Berhalter’s position is now under considerable pressure.
A USSF statement said: “Our performance at the tournament did not live up to our expectations. We must do better.”
“We will conduct a full evaluation of our performance in the Copa America and determine the best way to improve the team and results in preparation for the 2026 World Cup.”
After his team’s elimination, Berhalter said: “We know we are capable of doing better and we didn’t show it in this tournament, it’s as simple as that. We look at the scene with the fans and the high level of the competition and we should have done better. We will take stock and determine what went wrong, but for now it’s an empty feeling, for sure.”
Ask by The Athletic If he still believes he is the right man and voice to lead the group, Berhalter said: “Yes.”
Berhalter, 50, led the USMNT to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but his contract expired at the end of that year, in part because of his interactions with winger Gio Reyna.
Reyna was nearly sent home from the World Cup due to his behavior after being told he would not start for the U.S. team in the opening match against Wales. Reyna’s lack of effort in subsequent training sessions nearly led to his dismissal from the team, but Berhalter opted to keep Reyna in Qatar.
The relationship between Berhalter and Reyna was explored in the post-World Cup report (Ercin Erturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
After the tournament, the coach raised the issues without naming Reyna during a question-and-answer session at a management conference held under Chatham House rules, which usually meant comments were confidential. However, those comments were published and The Athletic It was reported that Reyna was the player Berhalter had spoken about.
After those stories, Reyna’s parents — former U.S. national players Claudio and Danielle Reyna, longtime friends of Berhalter and his wife, Rosalind Berhalter — reported to former U.S. Soccer athletic director Earnie Stewart a 1992 incident in which Berhalter kicked Rosalind during an argument when the two were freshmen at the University of North Carolina.
That prompted a U.S. Soccer investigation that ultimately concluded Berhalter was eligible for rehire.
Captain Christian Pulisic, who scored in the opening win against Bolivia but was unable to help in the two crude performances that followed, was left without a “solution” in the final third against Uruguay.
“We started well and brought a lot of energy, but in the end we didn’t have enough quality,” Pulisic said. “I felt like we gave everything, but we couldn’t find the solution to score.”
Asked where the team would go from here, he said: “It’s about resting, regrouping and finding an identity again.”
Pulisic was unable to help the USMNT advance (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Goalkeeper Matt Turner backed Berhalter and the current staff to do things right.
“I don’t see any problem with the direction we’re going,” Turner said. “When you have a fight like that on the pitch in every game we play in this tournament, it says a lot about how the manager prepares us.”
Defender Chris Richards, speaking to The Athleticalso believes that progress is being made.
“Every game is a step forward, no matter what the result is. You can learn a lot from every game,” he said. “I think people like to criticize us because of who we are and we accept that and keep moving forward.
“We try not to listen too much to the outside noise. They can say what they want, but every game, every training session is a step forward, whatever the result.”
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Midfielder Weston McKennie is open-minded about next steps but would be happy to continue playing for Berhalter if that is the direction that is decided.
“I think we’re all comfortable with Gregg and we all understand him and we’ve had him for a long time,” he said. The Athletic“He’s taken the team a long way from where we started four or five years ago.
“I think the connection we have with him is what’s important, having a coach that encourages players to fight for him, players that listen to him. And so I think whatever happens, happens, but I think if he’s the coach, we’re all happy, we get back up, we dust ourselves off, we learn and we keep moving forward. That’s the only thing we can do right now.”
“You can’t really try to live in the past, not think too far into the future, but just try to be in the present and improve little by little and see where it takes you.”
The USMNT is then scheduled to be in action in September for a pair of friendlies, against Canada in Kansas City on September 7 before meeting New Zealand in Cincinnati three days later.
(Top photo: John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
