- USMNT crash out of Copa America
- Fall to Uruguay 1-0 on home soil
- Manager Berhalter discusses future
WHAT HAPPENED?
The two most operative words after the USMNT’s failure to advance in the 2024 Copa America? What’s next.
What’s next for coach Gregg Berhalter, after the U.S. fell to Uruguay 1-0 in a must-win match in the group stage finale in Kansas City Monday night? What’s next for USMNT players after they dropped two of three matches in a high-profile tournament on their home soil? And what’s next for the USMNT’s program overall, with a spotlight firmly trained on the 2026 World Cup, to be played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico?
Berhalter was asked those questions and more after Monday night’s stinging defeat. Suffice it to say there were more questions than answers. He spoke on the early exit from the tournament and next steps for the program ahead of the World Cup.
ON HIS JOB STATUS
Asked after the match if he’s the right man to continue to lead the project forward, the U.S. manager had a one-word answer: “Yes.”
Whether he will be or not, is another question. And the 50-year-old admitted that it is out of his hands. However, he said he is committed to the project and recognizing that the tournament was a learning curve for all parties involved.
“That’s not up to me,” he said of his future with the team. “We know that I think that when you’re in tournament football, there’s very little that separates success from failure. And, you know, it’s one action it’s, one decision from the referee and you could be in trouble and for us, it’s having this understanding that every time we step on the field, it has an impact.
“I think we’re getting there, but, we’re we’re not always there, and that’s something that we can improve.”
ON ‘GETTING BETTER’
The learning curve for Berhalter extends to more than just Copa America. The U.S. boss mentioned the team’s performances in the buildup to the tournament as a key measurement. And he said the ensuing evaluation process will be focused on what it takes to “get better.”
“It wasn’t only it wasn’t only Copa America, but it’s learning from these high-level games that we’re playing pre-tournament and in-tournament and having the collective understand that the margins are so small, and there’s very little, separating any of these teams, and you have to treat every game as the same,” he said. “When you see the effort tonight that we put in it’s incredible. The guys did a great job and worked extremely hard, put in a great effort against a really good team. But that seems to be the standard every time we step on the field that needs to be the same effort.
“So we’ll look at everything I think, you know, we’re not gonna we’re not gonna leave any stone unturned. In my opinion, it’s not somebody who says, OK, you know, this program is doomed. It’s not the case at all, it was a poor performance, we didn’t get the results that we expected, and we need to get better.”
ON COPA AMERICA DISAPPOINTMENT
Still, Berhalter realizes that Copa America presented the U.S. with an opportunity to compete against elite opposition, and the outcome was more than underwhelming.
“Totally disappointed with the results,” Berhalter said. “We know that we’re capable of more. And this one we didn’t show it. It’s really as simple as that. I think that, you know, you look at the stage that was set with the fans in this tournament, with a high level of competition in this tournament, and you know, we should have done better.”
ON WHETHER U.S. MADE PROGRESS
Asked if he had “done enough” since he was re-hired as USMNT manager in 2023, Berhalter insisted that the U.S. has made progress. This comes despite the U.S. being winless against top-15 opposition by FIFA rankings through 10 matches under his leadership (excluding Mexico).
“You know, it’s obvious that the Panama game hurt us, put us behind the eight ball,” he said. “And, you know, I think collectively the staff, the players, the sporting department, you know, we need to look at where do we improve, how do we do better? It’s not the aspirations that we have as a group. We know it’s a talented, talented team with big potential and we didn’t show it in this tournament.”
WHAT NEXT FOR BERHALTER AND THE USMNT?
A pair of international friendlies against both Canada and New Zealand await the USMNT this September after their early exit from Copa.
As for Berhalter and the squad, expect an evaluation process over coming days and weeks to determine the future of the program.
