đșđž Gregg Berhalter & the USMNT knew the measuring stick going into Copa AmĂ©rica
They fell well short.
Reporting from the home of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs1
The measuring stick for the United States, and its manager Gregg Berhalter, in this summerâs Copa AmĂ©rica was clear. âYou must get this far to continue riding this ride,â it may have said. The minimum was the quarterfinals. Stand on tippy-toes and maybe itâs a semifinal - or something even more memorable.
Reach that standard, and it wouldâve been a clear signal to U.S. fans and the world: This team is going in the right direction. Big things are coming when it hosts the World Cup in 2026.
Instead it fell short, and itâs impossible to believe itâs true that things are progressing well, that things are going in the right direction. Itâs impossible to believe the United States is a team that could actually lift the World Cup in two years.
That means changes, and in international soccer where you canât go out and buy another forward or midfielder or anyone else, the easiest thing to do is to change the manager.
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Even when you think about the players youâd buy, this U.S. team really should be good enough. Sure, you can come up with upgrades, but compared to other teams in Concacaf and even the Americas, itâs a very talented group.
It shouldâve gotten out of the group. It should challenge Argentina, Brazil, the Uruguay team that controlled it and secured a 1-0 win in what goalscorer MathĂas Olivera told me âyou could see was the most difficult game of the group because of the team they have.â And it didnât. It fell short of the standard.
âItâs really about learning from this whole month,â Berhalter said after the contest. âItâs learning from these high-level games weâre playing pre-tournament and in-tournament and us having the collective understanding that the margins are so small, and thereâs very little separating any of these teams and we have to treat every game as the same.â
Despite what some frustrated fans might say, Berhalter is a smart guy, and heâs been in the game a long time. Heâs right about the margins in international soccer. Theyâre tight, and theyâre only getting smaller.
Thatâs why Berhalter has to go.
Whether this team needs someone who is less of a âplayers coachâ and makes life less comfortable for them, someone with more experience as a club manager or just a fresh face with new ideas, something has to change.
The margins are slim. The difference between success and failure at this tournament was, functionally, one goal. But everyone knows that going into a major tournament. Calls might not go your way. Mistakes will be made. The manager has to lead the response to those moments of adversity. The U.S. collapsed in those tough times.
âDo I think this team is good enough to compete with good teams? Of course I do,â defender Jedi Robinson said after. âWe didnât put ourselves in very good spots last game. If we donât go down to 10 men I think we win comfortably. This game is a test to show we can play against a good team and advance. That didnât happen. We didnât get the job done.â
The players arenât free of blame by any stretch, either. Whether red cards, defensive errors, a seeming fear of creativity in the final third or too low a work rate, the team wasnât good enough as a unit in the Copa AmĂ©rica.
âWe have to look at each other and speak to each other and look at ourselves and have tough conversations with ourselves,â center back Tim Ream said. âThereâs no other way to get around it. You canât paper over the cracks, you canât hide from the facts.
âThatâs conversations among the players, and thatâs important. Itâs where the leadership group comes in. Weâre all very, very experienced players and we have to speak up and be that type especially with the disappointment of tonight.â
U.S. Soccerâs leadership group also will be having those conversations, with sporting director Matt Crocker saying in a statement âWe will be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance in Copa America and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup.â
My suspicion is that means lining up someone who can replace Berhalter to be announced shortly after the, âThank you, Gregg,â
Those conversations will be tough. These are human beings, people with families, people who get to know and like each other. But this also is a results-based industry. The results needed were clear, and the U.S. didnât measure up.
More: Bleacher Report asked me to run through the reasons Berhalter and the U.S. failed at Copa América
Todayâs matches
Brazil-Colombia - 9p ET
Costa Rica-Paraguay - 9p ET
Last nightâs scores
United States 0-1 Uruguay
Panama 3-1 Bolivia
Having been at the other match, I honestly have no idea what happened in this game beyond the score. Iâll catch up, but feel free to leave a few notes or tweet some thoughts to me!
Have I mentioned Iâm a Chiefs fan?
âWe will be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance in Copa America and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup.â
This sounds more to me like they haven't made up their mind whether to fire Berhalter or not. It seems more like a stall tactic. Perhaps their "measuring stick" was a bit more pliable than others.