What Is Next After Copa America?

Very underwhelming to say the least. The United States men’s national team at the 2024 COPA America in the US failed to get out of their group, consisting of Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia.

The United States men’s national team is the first host nation at COPA America to be grouped at a COPA America.

The United States men’s national team start off on the right foot beating Bolivia 2-0 at home with goals from Christian Pulisic and Florian Balogan. After those two goals in the first half, the US men’s national team did not look to Score more goals. While our major competitors in the group, Uruguay in their next game thrashed Bolivia 5–0.

Our next game to secure our spots to the knockout round of the tournament was just to beat Panama of familiar CONCACAF team we should beat. The United States men’s national team started off high with lots of intensity matches in the first 10 minutes to be going our way with a disallowed goal from Weston McKennie. The 18th minute changed the whole trajectory of the whole game and what made it 10 times more difficult for the US pull this win off was Tim Weah’s red card for hitting a Panama player in the face with his elbow. The irresponsibility from Timothy Weah is what made it harder for the United States men’s national team to win this game. The expectation for the USMNT was still beat Panama, even with 10 men. It was looking promising when Florian Balogun and Scored a goal outside the box, 1st time, with his left foot landing in the top corner. Things were going good. Until we brought down our intensity we let Panama attack us at our own half and then a couple minutes later from the first goal Panama scored the equalizer to tie the game at 1-1. It went back-and-forth until the first half. at the second half very questionable changes from US men’s national team manager ,Gregg Berhalter taking out Giovanni Reyna For Cameron Carter Vickers a Center Back. Essentially, what Greg wanted to do for this change was to sit back and hold out the tie to advance to the next round. Also taking out one of the best central defensive midfielders, Tyler Adams or Johnny Cardoso, a like for like substitution. These changes really came to bite the USS national team in the second half when Cameron Carter Vickers almost awarded a penalty to Panama luckily Video assistant referee Declared that it was not a penalty. right at the end of the second half Panama scored to lead the game 2-1. The game end 2-1 in favor of Panama and the US men’s national team needs a win against the toughest team in the group Uruguay to hopefully secure spot in the next round.

Coming into the Copa America no one thought that US would be in the situation, needing a win against Uruguay to go through to the next round or else go home early in the tournament. Go big or go home. this is the time the United States men’s national team needed to pull it together and for Greg Berhalter to get it right and pull his first signature win as United States Men’s national team coach. Greg has never pulled an upset with this team. Greg never got this team to punch above their weight. if Greg doesn’t pull it Off against Uruguay and the United States men’s national team don’t make it through to the Copa America, the United States soccer Federation needs to sack him.

This is exactly what happened The United States men’s national team Lost against Uruguay 1 – 0. And the United States men’s national team were officially grouped and did not make it into the next round of the Copa America.

What Is Wrong With Greg and the players?!

In the post match interview after getting eliminated by Uruguay, Greg was asked if he was the right fit to lead this team in the 2026 World Cup. He replied with “yes”. Many Players like Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Tim Weah and Matt Turner all advocated for Greg Berhalter and how he was the correct manager for the job. After the Uruguay defeat, Matt turner the USMNT’s Goalkeeper was asked “if you see an issue with the direction the team is headed prior to the 2026 World Cup” and Matt turner responds with “I see no issue with the direction we’re heading.” On one hand you can not criticize the manager on national broadcast but you can not endorse mediocrity. Weston Mckennie also endorsing Greg Berhalter as the right man for the job by saying. “The players would run through a brick wall for Gregg.”

These players just have a soft mentality and something needs to change. The first step US Soccer needs to do is drop Greg from being in charge of this National Team.

USMNT’s Copa America Preview

Intro:

The United States Mens National team is set to play in the 2024 Copa America here in the United states from June 20th, 2024 – July 14, 2024. For those that don’t know this is the second time the United Sates is hosting the the Copa America , which is primarily a South American tournament. The first time the U.S hosted this tournament was back in 2016 when is was the Copa America Centenario celebrating 100 years of the tournaments existence. They are set to host it once again prior to the 2026 World Cup here in the U.S as well. This will be a major test for the players in red, white and blue as they are in the middle of their Golden Generation the best pool of players this team has ever had. South American Teams are no walk in the park they will have to play the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia etc. These are all national Teams better than the United States. How will the USMNT do?

How did the USMNT do in Previous Copa Americas?:

The USMNT has participated in the Copa America 4 times in their history.

The first time they were in the tournament was in 1993 which was the year prior to the 1994 world cup in the United States. This edition of the Copa America was played in Ecuador and the USMNT was eliminated in the group stage. Record (0-1-2) 1 draw and 2 Losses.

Two years later the United States played again in the Copa America in Uruguay. This time unlike the last edition the U.S finished in 4th place, getting eliminated in the Semi-Finals, with a Historic 3-0 win over Argentina in the group Stage, eliminating their biggest rivals Mexico in the Quarter finals, Ultimately losing to Brazil in the Semis.

Twelve years later the USMNT would be playing in the Copa America for their third time. Being led by USMNT legend Bob Bradley, they managed to lose all 3 games in the group stage.

Most recently in 2016 the United states playing their fourth Copa America, making it all the way to the semi-finals of this edition under USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Then losing to Argentina 4-0 led by one of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi, in Huston, Texas.

How the USMNT got to the 2024 Copa America?:

The United States Mens National team still had to qualify to this edition of the Copa America. The USMNT had to qualify through the the CONCACAF Nations League. The United States had to beat Trinidad and Tobago a relatively weak team compared to the United States.

Pulling the hairs out of many Americans, the players in red, white and blue were at the risk of not qualifying to this Copa America. The Quarter Finals had 2 legs, one home and one away. The first game was played in the United States and the U.S won that game 3-0. The game wasn’t as easy as it sounds. For more then half of the game the U.S was playing a man up, and the United States didn’t score their first goal until the last 10 minutes of the game.

In the second game (away) in Trinidad, we got the early lead 1-0. Putting the total score (4-0). Leading up to half time our best Right Back, Sergino Dest, got an absurd red card for yelling at the referee and among other things.

Playing a man down is something no team wants to play. When things like these happen coaches must be able to adapt. USMNT coach Greg Berhalter seemed to fail to adapt and let Trinidad exploit many areas of the pitch specifically in the midfield. Ultimately at the end of the game the game ended 2-1 Trinidad win, Trinidad had the chances to increase their and knock the U.S’s Dreams of being in the Copa America, their lack of quality didn’t help them punish the US.

Is Greg Berhalter Under pressure?:

Is Greg Berhalter Under pressure to do well this Copa America? Should Greg be under pressure to do well?

Greg has been in charge of the USMNT for 5 years. He has shown he has a lot of success in CONCACAF, which doesn’t have the strongest opponents compared to other confederations. Then again you can only beat what is in front of you, Greg did manage to win 1 Gold Cup and 3 Nation Leagues. However outside CONCACAF Greg’s record isn’t so good. His record is as follows in 22 games Greg has a record (8-8-6) 27 goals scored, 25 goals against. These are all games played in a neutral ground and games played here in the U.S.

Greg does the bare minimum:

Greg finished WCQ ( world cup Qualifiers 2022) in 3rd place behind Mexico and Canada and tied to Costa Rica in points, only being ahead due to goal differential. He did the bare minimum.

In the 2022 World Cup he again did the bare minimum tied Wales and England, and only beat Iran 1-0, and then losing to Dutch team 3-1 causing them to be eliminated from the 2022 WC at the round of 16. Having the most talented player pool of any other U.S teams compared to previous generations, and only finishing the same Round of 16 like every other World Cup. Bare Minimum.

Bringing up the Trinidad game, just barely qualifying to the Copa America, but he made it just barley.

When will the USMNT get a signature win under Greg Berhalter ?:

Now recently prior to the Copa America for preparation they played Columbia and got crushed by them 5-1 and surprisingly managed to get a draw to Brazil 1-1, both games played at home.

Last year in 2023 playing another good opponent they went up against Germany at home, Greg never got this talented player pool to punch above its weight.

The U.S never punched above its weight with Greg in charge, not once in 5 years. A lot of previous USMNT coaches were able to get historic wins and got them to punch above their weight with player pools much worse than they have at the moment.

Greg has shown to the American fans that they will never get the most talented generation of the USMNT players to have a signature win against semi-good opposition.

Greg continues to play a “System” that doesn’t fit the profiles of the many players he has, which as a result destroys the performance of a lot of players which makes them look terrible also, kills creativity, makes the team look pragmatic and very much disjointed.

For example, Greg likes to play Gio Reyna as a deep-line play maker, Gio Reyna one of the most talented and creative players this country has every produced is a player that needs to be higher up in the field as a Central Attacking Midfielder. He thrives driving at the opposition and providing the forwards the line breaking passes. He doesn’t thrive getting the ball from the Center backs and playing as a Central Defensive Midfielder. This is all parts of Greg “system”.

For the World Cup of 2026 we would need a coach that maximizes the talent he has to the fullest. He has been coaching this team for 5 years and this signature win still hasn’t happened. Berhalter in 5 years has had so many chances and for a lot of pundits and journalist they say that Copa America should be Greg’s last chance to make something out of this talented squad of American players. At least Semi-finals of the Copa America is what should be expected from this team, no excuses.

Greg Berhalter should be under pressure, but he should get the benefit of the doubt and believe in him and the players to get the job done.

About the Author

Who Am I?

My name is Manuel Bolanos, I am a passionate soccer coach (18) with over just 2 years of experience, already having USSF D license, my job is nurturing young talent and guiding them to achieve their full potential on and off the field by teaching them the little things I know when I was on a team. My journey in soccer began when I was a child, playing in the local parks trying to find a pickup game with all kids around the neighborhood, I started this when I was just 6-7 years old. Over the years, as I got older, the coaching aspect has caught my eye and my dream as a young coach is to coach at the highest level possible and change the the way my players view the game along the way. I’ve had the privilege of working with various age groups, from eager beginners to competitive youth players, each step reinforcing my belief in the power of soccer to shape character, teamwork, and resilience.

As a coach I work with Soccer Kids NYC is a youth soccer program designed to inspire children aged 2-12 to discover the joy of soccer in a supportive and challenging environment. The program offers various levels of training to cater to beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Their methodology focuses on developing physical, psycho-social, and technical & tactical aspects of the game, ensuring that every participant feels valued and motivated.

Occasionally I work with Smart Kids NYC , SmartKids NYC is closely associated with Soccer Kids NYC, particularly in the context of their Internal League program. The Smart Kids NYC Internal League is designed for children who seek a competitive and challenging soccer experience. This program includes an internal tryout process where selected children play on teams within the organization, participating in intramural-style tournaments. The focus is on developing teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, and communication skills, which are essential both in soccer and in life.

About the blog

In this blog I will mention and talk about what makes a country a Soccer Power House ( Brazil, France, Argentina, ), what the U.S needs to do to be up there or if we will ever be up there with these countries with decades of history. From the backyards to the big stage, this blog will also talk about crucial youth development necessary to make a player truly world-class. The issues that needs to be addressed from a federation standpoint and what the USSF ( U.S Soccer Federation) needs to do to make this generation of American players and future generations successfully domestically and on the world stage.

Subscribe

Enter your email below to receive updates.