USMNT Fans Calling for Berhalter’s Job After Brutal Loss to Colombia
As we sit less than two weeks away from the Copa America, the United States Men’s National Team is in trouble again as they lost to Colombia 5-1. After falling behind by two goals due to mind-boggling defensive errors, the U.S. pulled a goal back through Timothy Weah. Unfortunately, as the U.S. threw men forward to go for an equalizing goal, they left things very open at the back, allowing Colombia to run up the score. It was a shockingly bad performance from the USMNT. Coming off of a 2022 World Cup performance that left a lot to be optimistic about, the United States has been a source of its own problems in the past year and a half. While constant victories over decent sides in Mexico and Canada have made the US the team to beat in CONCACAF, the US has not been tested enough outside of the conference.
The man receiving the blame for the Colombia defeat, as well as most of the USMNT’s problems is head coach Gregg Berhalter. After the World Cup in Qatar, the US and Berhalter seemingly parted ways. The move made sense. Berhalter had done his part in getting the U.S. squad healed and back to another World Cup, but clearly he wasn’t the level of manager needed to start making real deep runs in international tournaments.
Then, something very odd happened. Reports of Berhalter not getting along with star midfielder Gio Reyna surfaced, explaining why Reyna was given perplexingly minimal action in the World Cup. This led to Berhalter becoming even more of a scapegoat, and he has been out of favor among U.S. Soccer fans ever since. That made it all the more confusing when Berhalter was re-hired last summer. Furthermore, the U.S. was coming off of two trophy-securing wins over Mexico under interim coach BJ Callaghan, effectively proving that the USMNT was the same team without Berhalter. Fans are now crying out for Callaghan to be re-promoted from his assistant manager position.
Berhalter had an eye-catching quote after the Colombia game, saying that from the 75th minute of the game on, the USMNT showed a “lack of respect for the opponent and the game of soccer.” The U.S. players were not up to par in the game, but in what seems like an attempt to throw them under the bus, Berhalter has exposed his own managerial shortcomings. It is his job to pick players who will take the game seriously. If he doesn’t feel his team is properly motivated, it is his job to try to get them to respect their opponent. His position at USMNT was questionable in the first place, but a rift is appearing between him and the roster. That makes complete sense since he refused to play one of the team’s best players in a World Cup for personal reasons. While the players’ performance against Colombia was indefensible, it is hard to blame them for not giving it their all for Berhalter.
We are 11 days from the Copa America and two short years from hosting the next World Cup. A respectable run is expected in the Copa, and the 2026 World Cup is supposed to be a transformative moment for U.S. Soccer. Is Berhalter the man to carry that weight? The U.S. Soccer Federation has some decisions to make, or else the USMNT will be stagnant again.
