Monday will go down as a sad day for soccer in the United States.
Mark it as a day when it felt like the sport at the highest level in this country was regressing rather than progressing.
This is a bit of a shame considering the fact that the World Cup will be held in the United States in 2026.
regret?
There’s a lot of sadness surrounding the U.S. men’s national soccer team, who were eliminated from the Copa America with a 1-0 loss to Uruguay on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium in the third of three group stage matches.
excuse?
The U.S. shouldn’t have gotten any points because it failed to advance from Group C, but it felt like a formality considering it was the second-best team out of Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia.
“We know we’re capable of more, but we just didn’t show it in this tournament,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said after the match. “This is not an aspiration we have as a team. There’s definitely an empty feeling right now.”
If the U.S. scores as many goals as they regret in this crucial tournament, which was meant to be a testament to how much this generation of players has grown, it might actually move closer to becoming the world sports power they have so fervently (and futilely) strived for for decades.
In the end, the United States’ record in the Copa America was one win, two losses, and only three points.
The U.S. will look back on their 2-0 win over Bolivia in their opening group game, when they probably should have won by twice that margin, as a missed opportunity.
They too will be regretting their 2-1 defeat to Panama on Thursday, in which winger Timothy Weah lost his cool and was red carded after just 16 minutes.
The U.S. took a 1-0 lead while playing with 10 men, but then squandered the lead and found itself in a tough spot against Uruguay, needing help from Bolivia.
The U.S. got no help from Bolivia, which lost 3-1 to Panama, but more importantly, the U.S. self-destructed against Uruguay, managing just three shots on target.
The United States failed to win all three matches in the tournament and was therefore eliminated.
And so could Berhalter, who may have coached his final game.
U.S. soccer certainly doesn’t seem to be progressing on the world stage, so nearly every question from reporters after the loss to Uruguay concerned his future as a manager.
Unanimous on the Fox panel said Berhalter should be fired.
“It’s not that the program is doomed. Not at all,” Berhalter said. “We performed poorly and we needed to be better. We didn’t meet expectations at all. I know we can do better. I believe in this team.”
When asked if he felt he was the right person and the right voice to lead this team, Berhalter answered with a simple “yes.”
Of course, that remains to be seen.
“I don’t think we’ve progressed enough since the last World Cup. [and] “For me it just wasn’t good enough,” former U.S. star striker Clint Dempsey said as part of the Fox broadcast team.
“I think they need to refresh everything and get the players back on their feet and hold new, fresh faces accountable,” said Carli Lloyd, one of the greatest U.S. women’s players of all time and now a Fox commentator.
For just a few minutes Monday night, there was hope in the United States.
After the U.S. failed to score until the 62nd minute in Kansas City, Bolivia scored its first goal of the tournament in the 69th minute to earn a 1-1 draw with Panama in Orlando, Florida, meaning that if the U.S. drew with Uruguay, Bolivia would advance to the knockout stage.
Suddenly, the Americans were fired up and needed to match or better Panama’s result to reach the quarterfinals.
But unfortunately, that hope was short-lived.
Four minutes later against the United States, Uruguay took a 1-0 lead in the 66th minute when Matias Olivera scored a controversial goal on a rebound from a set piece. Replays showed Olivera was offside, but the goal was confirmed by VAR.
“I know the rules very well, but it was an offside goal,” Berhalter said. “It’s unfortunate and we just have to accept it.”
Yes, the referees had a bad night, but in the end the USA didn’t score a goal, so there are no excuses.
Things got worse for the U.S. from Orlando onwards, as Panama took a 2-1 lead over Bolivia in the 79th minute and the U.S. needed two goals from Uruguay to advance.
Of course, no one will come.
That means the U.S. will miss the quarterfinals this weekend in the knockout rounds because they killed themselves. Now they will go home with a lot of regrets and excuses.
