United States coach Gregg Berhalter on thin ice after Copa America disaster
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Gregg Berhalter took the helm in 2018 and was rehired in 2022 with the support of the players following an extensive coaching search.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KANSAS CITY – Gregg Berhalter’s tenure as United States coach could be on the line after his team failed to advance from the group stage of the Copa America, following their crushing 1-0 defeat by Uruguay in Kansas City on July 1.
Backs to the wall in their final Group C game, the tournament hosts failed to deliver and were knocked out after Uruguay sealed top spot and Panama secured second place.
“We’re bitterly disappointed in the results,” Berhalter said.
“We know that we’re capable of more and at this tournament we didn’t show it. It’s as simple as that.”
Asked whether he thought he was the right person to lead the team up to the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, the 50-year-old American was in no doubt.
“Yes,” he said.
Not everyone agrees.
“The knives are out and they should be,” said Alexi Lalas, a former US player turned Fox Sports analyst. “This is not good enough from Gregg Berhalter.”
Clint Dempsey also had concerns about the future of Berhalter, who took charge from 2018 to 2022 and was rehired in 2023 with the support of the players following an extensive coaching search.
“I don’t think we’ve progressed enough since the last World Cup,” said Dempsey, another former US player turned analyst. “We’re not on the right track.”
With the World Cup just two years away and the US desperate not to be embarrassed again on the international stage, Dempsey worried that replacing Berhalter came with its own risks.
“How long is that going to take? And who is someone who is good enough to take us forward that’s out there waiting in the wings?” he asked.
“Those are questions that the federation need to figure out but for me, it hasn’t been good enough.”
American fans were brimming with confidence when the hosts were drawn in what looked like a manageable group, and were further encouraged when Christian Pulisic struck early against Bolivia in a one-sided 2-0 victory.
But everything changed against Panama in the second match.
Forced to play with 10 men for more than an hour following Tim Weah’s red card in the 18th minute, the US surrendered a late goal to fall 2-1 and questions were immediately asked about Berhalter’s future.
The US then failed to break through the Uruguayan defence on July 1 and Mathias Olivera’s second-half goal, coupled with Panama’s 3-1 win over Bolivia,
Berhalter said a review would be conducted to examine what went wrong but said he still had faith in the squad, the core of which is unlikely to change significantly before the World Cup.
“You have to keep moving forward,” he said. “It’s not where you say okay, this programme is doomed.
“That’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.”
While the US limped out of their home tournament, Uruguay assistant coach Diego Reyes said their final group-stage win showed they can adapt to difficult situations and would stand them in good stead for the coming tests.
Uruguay sealed top spot to book a quarter-final match against the runners-up in Group D, where Brazil and Costa Rica are vying to join Colombia in the next round. Panama will play the winner of that group.
Uruguay, who have been coached by Marcelo Bielsa since 2023, won all three of their group games, scoring nine goals.
The 15-time continental champions have impressed in recent months, implementing Bielsa’s brand of attack-minded football and high-energy, high-pressing style to great effect.
“We are a team who are prepared and we are designed to be protagonists,” said Reyes, standing in for the suspended Bielsa.
“So when we don’t have the ball, that’s something we don’t like.
“For some moments at the beginning of the match, it was hard for us to come up with those moments where we could recover the ball.
“We were arriving a bit late. Once that was corrected, we were able to recover the ball and... express our game better and we could see the Uruguay we all want...
“This is a good thing because the upcoming matches will look a lot like this, so I think it’s a good comparison point vis-a-vis what’s next.” REUTERS
