The United States’ departure from Copa América after shedding to Uruguay on Monday night time sparked questions on the way forward for the boys’s nationwide soccer group.
Those arguments principally swirled round whether or not head coach Gregg Berhalter ought to return forward of the 2026 World Cup, which will likely be hosted by the U.S. alongside Canada and Mexico.
The U.S. Soccer Federation’s response to the 1-0 loss at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City followers the flames of these questions much more, as they’re clearly not pleased getting knocked out earlier than the group phases ended.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
“Our event efficiency fell wanting our expectations,” U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker stated in a press release. “We should do higher. We will likely be conducting a complete overview of our efficiency in Copa America and the way greatest to enhance the group and outcomes as we glance in direction of the 2026 World Cup.”
No participant or coach desires to see their group discuss a “complete overview,” because it means every part will likely be analyzed with a fine-tooth comb. And some imagine Berhalter was already on the new seat earlier than Copa América play started.
CHRISTIAN PULISIC’S HANDSHAKE REFUSED BY REFEREE, SPARKS OUTRAGE AMONG FANS: ‘CLASSLESS’
While Copa América is simply a 16-team event that includes groups from North and South America, the USMNT was anticipated to no less than make it out of Group C. They wanted to simply be among the many high two of Panama, Bolivia and Uruguay.
However, regardless of a 2-0 victory over Bolivia to kick off the event, the USMNT fell to Panama in a shocking 2-1 loss, which was highlighted by Tim Weah receiving a purple card within the 18th minute and goalkeeper Matt Turner suffered a leg harm within the first half, rendering him out of date for the second.
Gregg Berhalter of the United States seems downfield earlier than the Concacaf Nations League remaining match between Mexico and USMNT at AT&T Stadium on March 24, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
So, whereas the U.S. went into Monday night time’s recreation in opposition to Uruguay with varied eventualities of constructing the knockout stage, the best approach to take action was defeating Uruguay as an alternative of worrying about the results of the Bolivia-Panama recreation.
The end result was the precise reverse of what Berhalter and the USMNT needed — shedding to Uruguay and seeing Panama beat Bolivia 3-1. Uruguay completed first after profitable all three of its group stage video games, and Panama got here in second in Group C.
Berhalter’s standing as head coach, although, began to get questioned when the U.S. misplaced to the Netherlands within the Round of 16 throughout the 2022 World Cup. He infamously saved Gio Reyna, a rising star for the U.S., on the bench all through many of the event, which brought about a rift between the 2.
Reyna began all three matches for the U.S. throughout Copa América play.
Gregg Berhalter, coach of United States speaks throughout a press convention forward of their match in opposition to Panama as a part of CONMEBOL Copa America USA 2024 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on June 26, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Now, looking forward to 2026, everybody will likely be trying to see what the U.S. Soccer Federation finds throughout that complete overview as a result of, as of now, it doesn’t bode effectively for Berhalter.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle publication.
