Berhalter bullish as U.S. Soccer plans full review of Copa failure
Beleaguered coach Gregg Berhalter said he's still the right person to lead the United States men's national team despite the Americans' failure to advance beyond the group stage at the Copa America.
A contentious 1-0 loss to Uruguay on Monday, combined with Panama's 3-1 win over Bolivia in a simultaneous fixture, condemned the U.S. to third place in Group C and knocked the host nation out of the tournament.
Asked after the dispiriting setback if he's the right voice to take the current group of players to the next level, Berhalter replied with a simple "yes," according to Greg O'Keeffe of The Athletic.
"We know we're capable of more and in this tournament. We didn't show it, it's as simple as that," Berhalter said, adding that the players were "bitterly disappointed with the result" against Uruguay.
"We look at the stage with the fans and the high level of competition, and we should have done better. We'll do a review and figure out what went wrong, but it's an empty feeling for now for sure."
U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker said that a review of the team's tournament performance would be conducted.
"Our tournament performance fell short of our expectations. We must do better," Crocker said in a statement, according to Jeff Kassouf of ESPN.
The USMNT had never previously been eliminated in the group stage of a major tournament - World Cup, Copa America, or Gold Cup - that it hosted.
Some U.S. fans could be heard chanting "Fire Gregg" during the second half of Monday's loss at Arrowhead Stadium, according to Kassouf.
For a brief moment in the second half Monday, the U.S. jumped into second place in the live standings when Bolivia equalized against Panama in the other Group C contest.
Berhalter, upon receiving that information, appeared to be relaying it to his players on the field. Uruguay scored its winning goal moments later.
"In the course of the game when Bolivia equalized, it was (a case) of getting that information out that we want to be smart and solid because Panama is tied in the game," he explained.
The 50-year-old bench boss, whose previous contract was allowed to expire after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was rehired in 2023. His current deal runs through the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. is co-hosting with neighbors Canada and Mexico.