Kansas City: Gregg Berhalter gave a single-word answer after the United States was eliminated from the Copa America with a loss to Uruguay when asked whether he was the right man to lead the Americans into the 2026 World Cup. Plenty of others are sure to have plenty more to say about his future with the national team.
After a disastrous loss to Panama put the U.S. in a dire predicament, Berhalter's lineup of players from European clubs created precious few opportunities against Uruguay. And when Mathías Olivera found the back of the net for a questionable second-half goal, La Celeste walked out of Arrowhead Stadium with a 1-0 victory on Monday night and the Americans were left wondering how everything had gone so wrong.
Berhalter and the U.S. hoped to show the team had advanced since its round-of-16 elimination against the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup. Instead, the U.S. managed only a 2-0 win over lowly Bolivia and were upset 2-1 by the Panamanians.
Indeed, the lone goal Monday night came in the 66th minute when Nicolas De La Cruz swung a free kick in front of the American goal. Matt Turner parried a header by Ronald Araújo, who out-jumped defender Tim Ream, but the rebound went right to Olivera and he tapped the ball 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 U.S. was in a position to advance.
Bruno Miranda had tied the score for Bolivia against Panama in a game started simultaneously in Orlando, Florida, which meant the U.S. would only need a tie. But Panama went on to a 3-1 victory to claim the second spot in Group C behind Uruguay, and the U.S. was bounced from the group stage for the first time in 20 continental and global tournaments on home soil.
Berhalter was rehired in June 2023 and given a contract through the upcoming World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico. But despite a lineup that included Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, the U.S. failed to even match its last Copa America appearance, when it lost to Argentina in the 2016 semifinals.
During the second half Monday night, the home crowd of 55,460 in less-than-full Arrowhead Stadium began chanting, “Fire Gregg.”
