The Copa América shouldn’t end like this.
The United States Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT) was primed for success this summer. The USA was hosting the Copa América, South America’s quadrennial football championship, and was once again invited to participate along with some other central and North American teams. Two years before co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, the USA – which we’re told has fielded more young talent than ever before – had an excellent opportunity to assert itself on the global stage. The US team, which finished third in the Copa América in 2016, the last time the US hosted the tournament, was expected to announce its intentions to actually play in its World Cup on home soil in two years’ time. And after a 2-0 victory over Bolivia in the opening game of the group stage on June 23, the plan seemed to be on track.
Before everything falls apart.
On Monday night in Kansas City, Uruguay defeated the United States 1-0, which eliminated the USMNT from the tournament surprisingly early. The U.S. defeat, combined with Panama’s 3-1 victory over Bolivia, sent Panama, not the U.S., into the quarterfinals. “It’s an empty feeling right now,” said American coach Gregg Berhalter, whose job now appears to be in serious jeopardy, after the match.
Berhalter hurt his own cause during the game when in the middle of the match he signaled to the team from the sideline that Bolivia scored a goal against Panama, drawing 1-1. At the time, the USA and Uruguay were tied 0-0; if everything held, the U.S. would advance instead of Panama, which defeated the U.S. 2-1 in a tough match last week to make the group competitive.
You play, however, to win the game. As a kind of punishment for Berhalter’s public display of complacency, Uruguay scored seconds later, in the 66th minute, when Mathias Olivera sent a rebound free kick into the net. Olivera appeared to be offside at the start of the play. But after a VAR review, the goal remained.
To be fair, in a physical game the referees didn’t do the USA any favors. American defender Antonee Robinson called the refereeing, which included some questionable yellow cards and decisions to let the game continue after fouls, “amateur hour.”
But the results tell the real story. The North American players, especially captain Christian Pulisic, increased the pressure in the final third of the match, but were unable to score. Panama beat Bolivia 3-1. Tournament ended for the US team. The USA found themselves in a difficult situation ahead of their match against Uruguay, traditionally one of the strongest teams in South America, thanks to Thursday’s defeat to Panama, a game in which Tim Weah’s early red card left the USA with one less man.
So attention now turns to Berhalter, who led the US to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. Still, some experts thought a change could boost the American side heading into the next quadrennium. Cool voice and everything. Then, the parents of one of his players, Gio Reyna, tried to orchestrate Berhalter’s departure by bringing up an incident of domestic violence that occurred in his distant past to American football’s leadership. US Soccer had to conduct an investigation; Berhalter ended up being rehired, but only in June 2023.
The football commentator class is now calling for change, before it is too late to inspire the team ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The chants in Kansas City – especially from the so-called American Outlaws, the USA team’s fiercest supporters – were audible:
“Fire Gregg.”
“Our performance in the tournament fell short of our expectations.” US Soccer said in a statement after the game. “We must do better. We will undertake a comprehensive review of our Copa América performance and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup.”
Instead of fighting for the title in the coming weeks, fans will once again be debating Berhalter’s fitness for his job. A feeling of emptiness, indeed.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
