The United States men’s national team saw their campaign in the Copa America come to an end on Monday night following their 1-0 loss to Uruguay, but head coach Gregg Berhalter remained defiant afterward, stating that he was still the right man for the job.
It was a good start to the tournament as the Americans came away with a 2-0 win over Bolivia in Group C. However, things came off the rails in their second game as Tim Weah’s sending-off saw them fall to Panama in a 2-1 defeat. With their loss to La Celeste at Arrowhead Stadium, there are now many questions as to whether they will be ready to take on the world’s best when the FIFA World Cup begins on June 11, 2026.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Berhalter expressed his disappointment that they would not go further in the Copa America.
“Just to see the guys’ faces in the locker room and to see the emotion of the staff and players, we’re bitterly disappointed with the results,” he said. “We know we’re capable of more, and in this tournament this we didn’t show it, it’s really as simple as that.
“We’ll do a review and figure out what went wrong and why it went wrong, but it’s an empty feeling right now, for sure.”
When pressed on whether he is still the right man to lead the team through the World Cup, the 50-year-old coach said “yes” without going into detail.
The coach refused to answer when asked by another reporter whether he was at all worried about his future as coach of the national team.
“I’m not happy with the results of the tournament, that’s for sure,” he said “And that’s first and foremost the expectations we have are to do better than we did, and we’re bitterly disappointed with it.”
“And the other stuff that’s out of my control, it’s not something to spend a lot of time with. To me, it’s about how do we keep getting better, how do we keep improving and processing the lack of performance in this tournament.”
The United States’ early exit from the Copa America means they will not play another game until Sept. 7, when they face their northern neighbors Canada at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
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