Berhalted: United States crash out of Copa América in heartbreaking loss

The United States crashed out of the Copa América on Monday, falling 1-0 to Uruguay in a hectic Group D finale at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Mathías Olivera scored the decisive goal for Uruguay in the 66th minute, firing home a deflection that came off the hands off Matt Turner, who saved Ronald Araújo’s initial effort. The goal was subject to an extended VAR check that ultimately ruled the Napoli defender was onside by the finest of margins, much to the dismay of the Stars and Stripes.

American fans and Christian Pulisic voiced their displeasure with referee Kevin Ortega, who made several controversial decisions in his first Copa América match. The first came in the 32nd minute, when the Peruvian referee began to pull a yellow card to stop play then allowed a Uruguayan advantage while still holding the card. 🤦‍♂️

The second came just minutes later when Pulisic started a counter-attack after a handball on Uruguay, but the referee eventually blew his whistle and called the play back for a U.S. free-kick.

The United States’ captain was visibly frustrated with Ortega throughout the evening, and appeared to taunt him after the game by encouraging him to celebrate with Uruguay players. Then, after Pulisic shook an assistant referee's hand, Ortega refused to follow suit. "Yeah, he wouldn't shake my hand," Pulisic confirmed after the match.

Yet, Pulisic maintained that the officiating was not solely to blame for the early exit. "It's not why we lost,” said the 25-year-old Milan forward. "We're not out of this tournament because of officiating."

What’s next for Berhalter?

At this point there are still more questions than answers, but there’s no way around it: this is a hugely disappointing result for the USMNT. The Stars and Stripes boast undoubtedly their most talented collection of players ever, and were favored to progress to the quarter-finals after drawing a relatively weak group that also included Bolivia and Panama.

Questions are mounting over whether Gregg Berhalter, who’s coached the USMNT since 2018, is the right person to lead the Americans into the World Cup on home soil two years from now. After all, the man Berhalter replaced – Jürgen Klinsmann – did far more with less.

While the ex-Galaxy defender said he wanted to remain as the United States’ manager after the match, the decision isn’t up to him.

"Our tournament performance fell short of our expectations," said Berhalter’s boss and U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker after the match. “We must do better. We will be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance in Copa América and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup.”

I’m no psychic, but it appears Berhalter’s days on the touch-line for the USMNT are numbered, and it’s probably for the best.

📚 Read: The United States need to move on from Berhalter after their disastrous Copa América.