SI:AM | USMNT Crashes Out of Copa America As Calls for Coaching Change Mount

It might be time for Gregg Berhalter to go.

Christian Pulisic and the USMNT had much higher expectations for themselves at Copa America. / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I can’t think of a team more frustrating to watch than the U.S. men’s national team.

In today’s SI:AM:

🇺🇸 USMNT disaster
⛳ PGA Tour survey
⚾ AL rookie roundup

Out with a whimper

For the first time, the U.S. men’s national team has failed to advance out of the group stage at a major tournament played on home soil. Monday night’s 1–0 loss to Uruguay in Kansas City sent the U.S. crashing out of the Copa America and raised serious doubts about coach Gregg Berhalter’s future.

Because it had previously lost to Panama earlier in the group stage, the U.S. entered Monday night’s game needing at least a draw to advance to the knockout stage. More likely, considering Panama was playing a weak Bolivia team, it needed a win. But the U.S. was thoroughly stymied offensively en route to a massively disappointing 1–0 defeat.

It was a chaotic game marked by bewildering officiating. At one point, the referee, Kevin Ortega of Peru, showed a U.S. player a yellow card while simultaneously allowing Uruguay to play on. More significant was the decision to allow Uruguay’s only goal to stand after a replay review, even though the player who scored it appeared to be offside.

This was somehow not ruled offside after review 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Oh2Xn9Z7bK

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024

U.S. players and fans have every right to be upset with the officiating, but the team’s lackluster showing at the tournament can’t be blamed solely on the referee in one of the three group stage matches. The U.S. did plenty to shoot itself in the foot, losing 2–1 to an inferior Panama team after Tim Weah was shown a red card in the 18th minute for inexplicably striking an opponent in the head. In the Uruguay game, knowing it needed to score to increase its chances of advancing, the U.S. still managed just three shots on goal.

Berhalter’s tenure in charge of the team has been marked by a lack of offensive firepower. The U.S. scored just three goals in four games at the 2022 World Cup. There were questions after that tournament about whether Berhalter was the right person to lead the team into the next World Cup cycle. The attempt by the parents of U.S. player Gio Reyna to discredit Berhalter by leaking details of a decades-old incident with his now-wife made the situation more fraught. (Berhalter admitted to kicking his wife, Rosalind, during an argument at a bar in 1991, when they were college students. He said he sought counseling after the incident and has never acted violently toward his wife since.) In the end, U.S. Soccer decided to stand by Berhalter after an investigation into the incident. But now, the team’s on-field performance under Berhalter has sparked fresh calls for change.

The most infuriating part of Berhalter’s performance on Monday came moments before the U.S. surrendered the only goal of the night. News began to spread throughout the stadium that Bolivia had scored to tie its game against Panama, a result that, if it held, would have meant the U.S. could advance with only a draw in its game. Berhalter relayed that information to his players just as they were preparing to defend a free kick. Whether or not the players were distracted by having learned what was going on in the other game, it was still a terrible look for Berhalter when Uruguay scored mere seconds later.

USMNT fans and Gregg Berhalter appeared to realize Bolivia had leveled the score vs Panama and only seconds later Uruguay took the lead 💔 pic.twitter.com/Q1kkr2Gd6N

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024

With the ball in a dangerous position, Berhalter’s focus should have been solely on preparing his players to defend the set piece, especially because the Bolivia-Panama game was far from over. The Bolivia goal proved to be meaningless as Panama scored twice more to win 3–1. The U.S. should have been primarily concerned with winning the game at hand. Eagerly communicating a lucky break in a different game shows a disappointing level of complacency.

The biggest moment in U.S. men’s soccer history—the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada—is two years away. It’ll be the second time the U.S. has hosted the World Cup, having previously hosted the 1994 tournament. But the men’s team is far more advanced than it was back then. The ’94 tournament was a chance to introduce soccer to the U.S. The next World Cup was supposed to be a chance for the USMNT to announce itself as a team worth taking seriously on the world stage. So much for that.

This Copa America was a tremendously important tournament for the USMNT. Because the team will qualify automatically for the 2026 World Cup as hosts, it won’t have the benefit of playing competitive matches in the leadup to the tournament. The Copa America—with the added challenge of playing against quality teams from South America—would be a chance to earn important experience in competitive matches for a team with high expectations and also serve as a way to measure the team against some of the world’s best. But there will be no showdown on home soil against Brazil or Argentina—because the U.S. couldn’t even beat Panama.

Expectations are always higher for a World Cup host. And they should be. Playing at home is a serious advantage. After a decent showing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, U.S. fans wouldn’t have been foolish to think it possible the team could advance past the round of 16 for the first time since ’02 when the tournament comes to American soil. But if the U.S. can’t get out of a group that includes Bolivia and Panama, what hope is there that things will be better against stiffer competition two years from now?

Aiyuk had a career-high 1,342 receiving yards in 2023. / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The best of Sports Illustrated

• Nick Selbe’s AL rookie roundup leads with a look at Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford’s cycle.

• Gilberto Manzano argues that the 49ers definitely need to keep Brandon Aiyuk to win a Super Bowl.

• Chris Mannix wrote about how Caitlin Clark responded to Diana Taurasi’s challenge in their first game against each other.

• Art Stricklin asked a bunch of PGA Tour pros when they last had to pay to play a round of golf.

• As if the result wasn’t bad enough, fans were subjected to a god-awful camera angle for the first half of the U.S.-Uruguay game.

• Read the statement the Warriors issued after Klay Thompson agreed to sign with the Mavericks.

The top five…

… things I saw yesterday:

5. This diving catch by celebrated Orioles prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo’s emotional reaction to missing a crucial penalty against Slovenia.
3. Nationals prospect James Wood’s first career hit.
2. Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones’s strong throw to catch a runner trying to stretch a single into a double.
1. Diogo Costa’s performance for Portugal in the shootout against Slovenia. He stopped all three shots he faced to allow his team to advance.