KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Gregg Berhalter gave a one-word answer after the United States were eliminated from the Copa América with a loss to Uruguay when asked if he was the right man to lead the Americans at the 2026 World Cup.
“Yes,” Berhalter said.
Many others will certainly have much more to say about their future with the national team.
After a disastrous loss for Panama put the US in a difficult situation, Berhalter’s lineup of European club players created precious few opportunities against Uruguay. And when Mathías Olivera scored for a questionable second-half goal, La Celeste left Arrowhead Stadium with a 1-0 victory on Monday night and Americans were left wondering how it all went so wrong.
“Let’s all take a look back at the entire tournament and see where we fell short,” Berhalter said. “It’s obvious that the game against Panama hurt us, it put us behind the 8 ball, and I think that collectively – the team, the players, the sporting department – we have to see where we can improve. How can we improve? We know it’s a talented team, with great potential, and we didn’t show it.”
Berhalter and the U.S. were hoping to show that the team has progressed since their round of 16 exit against the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup. Instead, the U.S. managed just one 2-0 victory over humble Bolivia and was defeated 2-1 by the Panamanians.
“We had a good start and brought a lot of energy, but at the end of the day we didn’t have enough quality,” said US captain Christian Pulisic. “I felt like we gave everything, but we couldn’t score.”
In fact, the solitary goal Monday night arrived in the 66th minute when Nicolas De La Cruz took a free kick in front of the American goal. Matt Turner saved a Ronald Araújo header that went past defender Tim Ream, but the rebound went straight to Olivera and he tapped in with his left foot.
Olivera appeared to be offside on the initial header, but the goal stood after a video review.
Three minutes before Uruguay scored, the USA were in a position to advance.
Bruno Miranda had tied Bolivia’s score against Panama in a game that started simultaneously in Orlando, Florida, which meant that the USA would only need a draw. But Panama recorded a 3-1 victory to take second place in Group C behind Uruguay, and the USA were knocked out of the group stage for the first time in 20 continental and global tournaments on home soil.
“This is still a young team. There is still a lot of potential. But potential doesn’t really matter if you get on the field and don’t get the job done,” said defender Antonee Robinson. “Everyone needs to try to level up, including me.”
Berhalter was rehired in June 2023 and received a contract during the upcoming World Cup, which the US will co-host with Canada and Mexico. But despite a lineup that included Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, the USA were unable to match their last Copa América appearance when they lost to Argentina in the 2016 semi-finals.
During the second half on Monday night, the crowd of 55,460 at the sparsely packed Arrowhead Stadium began chanting, “Fire Gregg.”
The USA will play friendlies in September against Canada and New Zealand.
“It wasn’t just the Copa América. It’s learning from these high-level games that we’re playing leading up to the tournament,” Berhalter said, “and having this collective understanding that the margins are very small and there’s very little separating any of these teams.”
Uruguay played without coach Marcelo Bielsa, suspended for sending off his team at the end of the second half of the first two games. Diego Reyes and Pablo Quiroga led a mild but humid night in Kansas City.
Berhalter and the Americans knew the difficulty of their situation – Pulisic at one point said they would need to play “the best game of our lives” to advance – and looked like a team with nothing to lose for most of the first half.
It was marked by physical plays and questionable calls.
Folarin Balogun, who already had two goals in the tournament, withstood several challenges. He was asking for help after colliding with Uruguayan goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, and then rolled onto the field after Araújo entered at the end of the half. Balogun ended up having to leave with a hip strike and Ricardo Pepi came on in his place.
Uruguay lost Maximiliano Araújo early in the half after a frightening collision with Ream near the USA goal. He had to be taken off the field on a stretcher, but managed to move his arms before climbing up the tunnel.
In the middle of the chaos was 32-year-old Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega, whose several questionable calls hurt the USA.
The first came when Ortega began to draw a yellow card and stop the game, then allowed it to continue – while still holding the card – as Uruguay almost scored in attack. The second happened when the USA had a clear advantage after a hand ball over Uruguay, but the Peruvian referee finally blew the whistle and called off the play for a free kick.
“This referee was horrible,” Robinson said. “I’ve never seen a referee, you know, let a quick foul pass while he had a yellow card in his hand. And he is literally embarrassing. And I hope something happens to him from this.”
Uruguay applied more pressure midway through the second half, then left the Americans desperate after the goal. And although the USA had some good plays and some good opportunities in the box, a team that had so many expectations couldn’t find the two goals it needed – or even one.
“The USA is a very strong team, but if you put pressure on us to play hard, we can do it,” said Manuel Ugarte of Uruguay. “And we can also play beautiful (attractive) football. We adapt to the circumstances of the match.”
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