Questions have arisen about the future of the men’s national soccer team after the United States was eliminated from the Copa America with a loss to Uruguay on Monday night.
The discussion has largely centered around whether coach Gregg Berhalter should return ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the United States will host alongside Canada and Mexico.
The U.S. Soccer Federation’s reaction to the 1-0 loss at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, clearly unhappy with being eliminated before the end of the group stage, only fueled those questions.
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United States head coach Gregg Berhalter gives instructions to his team during the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Group C match between the United States and Uruguay at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 1, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Michael Reeves/Getty Images)
“Our performance in the tournament fell short of expectations,” U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker said in a statement. “We must work harder. We will comprehensively review our performance in the Copa America and how we can best improve our team and results as we lead up to the 2026 World Cup.”
Players and coaches don’t want the organization to talk about a “comprehensive review” because that would mean closely analyzing everything, and some believe Berhalter was already in hot water before the Copa America games even began.
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The Copa America is a tournament featuring 16 teams from across the Americas, and the U.S. men’s national team was expected to at least advance out of Group C, needing to finish in the top two spots among Panama, Bolivia and Uruguay.
But despite a 2-0 win over Bolivia in the tournament’s opening match, the U.S. suffered a surprising 2-1 loss to Panama after Tim Weah received a red card in the 18th minute and goalkeeper Matt Turner suffered a foot injury in the first half and sat out the second half.
United States player Gregg Berhalter looks down the field before the CONCACAF Nations League Final match between Mexico and the USMNT at AT&T Stadium on March 24, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
So while the U.S. went into Monday night’s game against Uruguay with a variety of scenarios in mind for how it could advance to the knockout stage, the easiest way was to just beat Uruguay rather than worry about the outcome of Bolivia vs. Panama.
The outcome was the opposite of what Berhalter and the US Men’s National Team had hoped for, with a loss to Uruguay and Panama beating Bolivia 3-1. Uruguay won all three group stage matches to finish in first place, while Panama finished second in Group C.
But Berhalter’s status as coach began to be called into question after the U.S. lost to the Netherlands in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. He infamously kept U.S. rising star Gio Reyna on the bench for much of the tournament, causing a rift between the two.
Reina started in all three of the United States’ Copa America matches.
U.S. national team coach Gregg Berhalter speaks during a press conference ahead of the CONMEBOL Copa America USA 2024 match against Panama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on June 26, 2024. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
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Now, everyone will be watching to see what the U.S. Soccer Federation finds in its comprehensive review heading into 2026, because as of now, it doesn’t bode well for Berhalter.
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