Gregg Berhalter has been fired as coach of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team following a disappointing performance in the Copa America.
The U.S. Soccer Federation announced the firing Wednesday, following what was a dismal group stage exit in the tournament hosted on U.S. soil.
“We are now focused on working with our Sporting Director Matt Crocker and leveraging his experience at the highest levels of the sport to ensure we find the right person to lead the USMNT into a new era of on-field success,” U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said in a statement announcing Berhalter’s departure.
The U.S. opened last month’s Copa America play with a steady 2-0 win against Bolivia, in the tournament featuring teams from South America, Central America, North America and the Caribbean.
The U.S. team was projected by many pundits as being one of the two teams expected to advance from the opening round in Group C.
But its 2-1 loss to Panama on June 27 largely diminished the team’s chances of moving on. The game was marred by a Tim Weah red card after he threw a punch at a Panamanian player. The infraction left the U.S. team team down a man only 18 minutes into the game. José Fajardo scored in the 83rd minute to seal the game for Panama.
The U.S. was then bounced from the tournament after a 1-0 loss on July 1 to perennial South American powerhouse Uruguay, a 15-time Copa America champion.
The loss fueled speculation about Berhalter’s future with the team before the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
After its loss to Uruguay, U.S. Soccer technical director Matt Crocker released the following statement indicating changes might be afoot:
“Our tournament performance fell short of our expectations. We must do better. We will be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance in Copa America and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup.”
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