USMNT’s crushing Copa America failure will only lead to more Gregg Berhalter doubts

Mark Monday down as a sad day for American soccer.

Mark it down as a day that left you feeling like the sport, at its highest level in this country, has regressed instead of progressed.

That’s more than a little distressing considering the fact that the World Cup will be played on American soil in 2026.

Regrets?

The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team has many after flaming out of Copa America on Monday night following a 1-0 loss to Uruguay at Arrowhead Stadium in the third of its three group stage matches.

Excuses?

The Americans shouldn’t have any after failing to advance out of Group C, which felt like a formality considering they were the second-best team among Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia.

“We know that we’re capable of more, and in this tournament, we didn’t show it,’’ U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said afterward. “This is not the aspiration we have as a group. It’s an empty feeling right now for sure.’’

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If the U.S. scored as many goals as it has regrets in this important tournament that was supposed to be a proving ground for how far this generation of players has come, it might actually be closer to the world power in the sport it’s fervently (and futilely) strived to be for decades.

In the end for the U.S. in Copa America, this was its scoreline: One win, two losses and just three goals scored.

The Americans will look back on its 2-0 win over Bolivia in the first match of the group stage that they probably should have won by twice that margin as a squandered opportunity.

They, too, will rue Thursday’s 2-1 loss to Panama, in which winger Timothy Weah was sent off with a red card just 16 minutes in after losing his composure.

Playing with 10 men, the Americans still took a 1-0 lead and then squandered it, leaving them in a difficult situation against Uruguay, needing help from Bolivia.

The U.S. got no help from Bolivia, which lost 3-1 to Panama. But, more importantly, the U.S. failed to help itself, managing a mere three shots on frame against Uruguay.

The Americans failed to finish in all three of their matches in this tournament, and because of that, they are finished.

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And so, too, may be Berhalter, who might have coached his last game.

U.S. soccer certainly doesn’t look like it’s advancing on the world stage, and because of that, almost every post-match question from reporters after the Uruguay loss was related to his future as the coach.

Across the board on the Fox broadcast panel, belief was expressed that Berhalter must be fired.

“It’s not the case where the program is doomed, not the case at all,’’ Berhalter insisted. “It was a poor performance, and we needed to be better. We did not perform up to expectations at all. We know we can do better. We believe in this team.’’

Asked if he believes he remains the right man to lead this team and remains the right voice, Berhalter offered a one-word answer: “Yes.’’

That, of course, remains to be seen.

“I don’t think we’ve progressed enough since the last World Cup, [and] for me it hasn’t been good enough,’’ former U.S. star striker Clint Dempsey said as a part of the Fox broadcast team.

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“I think you need to shake everything up, get players on their toes again and held accountable by a new fresh face,’’ Carli Lloyd, one of the best U.S. women’s players ever and now a Fox analyst, said.

For a scant few minutes, there was hope for the U.S. on Monday night.

With the Americans scoreless in the 62nd minute in Kansas City, Bolivia scored its first goal of the tournament to tie Panama 1-1 in the 69th minute of their match in Orlando, Fla. That meant a U.S. draw with Uruguay would send them through.

Suddenly, there was life for the Americans, who needed to match or better the Panama result to advance to the quarterfinals.

But alas, that hope was merely fleeting.

Four minutes later in the U.S. match, Uruguay took a 1-0 lead in the 66th minute on a controversial goal scored by Mathias Olivera on a rebound off a set piece. It appeared on replay that Olivera was offside, but VAR confirmed the goal.

“I feel like I know the rule pretty well and it’s an offside goal,’’ Berhalter said. “It’s disappointing and we have to live with it, obviously.’’

The referee, indeed, had an atrocious night, but in the end, the U.S. failed to score a goal. So, no excuses.

The news got worse for the U.S. out of Orlando, where Panama took a 2-1 lead over Bolivia in the 79th minute, meaning the U.S. needed two goals to defeat Uruguay to advance.

None, of course, would come.

So, there will be no quarterfinal match for the Americans in the knockout round this weekend, because the Americans knocked themselves out. Now they go home with many regrets and no excuses.

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