United States coach Gregg Berhalter insists he is the right man to lead the team into the 2026 World Cup, despite the team’s elimination in the Copa America group stage.
The host team, the United States, lost 0-1 to Uruguay and finished third in Group C, where only the top two teams advance.
Uruguay took top spot and booked a place in the quarter-finals, while Panama beat Bolivia 3-1 to reach the last eight as runners-up from Group C.
“I’m very disappointed with the result,” said Berhalter, whose team opened with a win over Bolivia before losing to Panama and Uruguay.
“We know we can do better and we just didn’t show it in this tournament. That’s it.”
Asked if he thought he was the right man to lead the team through the 2026 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, Berhalter replied, “I do.”
Uruguay won all three of their group stage matches, with Matias Olivera scoring the winning goal against the United States in Kansas City.
“We have to keep moving forward,” said Berhalter, who was reappointed as U.S. men’s national team coach in June 2023 after an internal investigation into his conduct following allegations during the 2022 World Cup.
“It’s not like the program is dead. Not at all. The performance was poor and we didn’t get the results we were hoping for. We need to do better.”
But U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker said the national team’s performance in the Copa America “fell short of expectations” and that “we need to do better.”
“We will conduct a comprehensive review of our performance in the Copa America and consider how we can best improve our team and results leading up to the 2026 World Cup,” he added in a U.S. Soccer Federation statement.
Uruguay will face the runner-up from Group D in the quarterfinals, while Panama will face the winner of that group.
Colombia top Group D with six points, while Brazil are second with four points. The teams meet in their final group match at 2am BST on Wednesday.
