Although hopes were not too high for the USMNT's Copa América camapign, a group stage exit was quite ... [+]
The Copa América has come to the United States of America for just the second time in its history, but the tournament is already over for the home team. The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) could not even get past their group as they only managed to win one of their three matches, losing to both Panama and Uruguay to finish behind them.
Hopes were not too high in a tournament in which the USMNT was far from the strongest team, but qualifying for the knockouts was the bare minimum expectation. The team’s failure to meet that has unsurprisingly led to a lot of dissatisfaction among fans, who wish to see changes made to improve the side. Upon closer inspection, though, it should become clear that there is no easy fix for the USMNT’s issues.
What Went Wrong in the Copa América
Before getting into the potential changes, it is worth analyzing what went wrong in the Copa América.
The USMNT entered the tournament in decent shape as they won the CONCACAF Nations League earlier in the year, defeating Mexico in the final. In the process, they seem to find the starting XI formula they would use for the Copa, clearing up some selection doubts. Even so, they were clearly weaker than the four South American favorites, but they looked in strong shape to win their first two group games against Bolivia and Panama and reach the quarterfinals.
They got off to a strong start in a commanding 2-0 win over Bolivia, but it all quickly unravelled with Timothy Weah’s silly sending off just 18 minutes into the match against Panama. Folarin Balogun did still manage to score an opener soon thereafter, but the USMNT quickly conceded an equaliser and lost the game by conceding again in the 83rd minute.
Timothy Weah's sending off was the beginning of the end of the USMNT's Copa campaign. (Photo by ... [+]
As a result, their final group game against Uruguay became a must-win. Marcelo Bielsa’s side themselves needed a point to be sure of their knockout spot, so he fielded a full-strength XI that made the task even tougher for the hosts. A great battle ensued, but ultimately it was the South Americans who emerged victorious as they imposed their physicality, posed a significant threat from set pieces and ultimately took one chance that made the difference.
In truth, the only thing this run shows is the unpredictable nature of tournament football. The USMNT would most likely have defeated Panama if not for Weah’s entirely unnecessary red card, making their final group game a dead rubber. They would then have come up against Colombia in the quarterfinal, where a loss would not have been too unexpected.
Can A Coaching Change Fix This?
Gregg Berhalter has received a fair bit of criticism in his five-plus years in charge of the USMNT, but their failure at this Copa América cannot be pinned on him. Of course, he could have done a few things better such as his game management against Panama, but on the whole, a coach cannot be blamed for losing a match in which their team played with a numerical disadvantage for over seventy minutes. The defeat to Uruguay thereafter was simply a case of the better group of players winning, which is again something the national team head coach is not culpable for.
In fact, Berhalter’s overall tournament record in charge of the USMNT is quite impressive. They have won all three CONCACAF Nations Leagues, reached the semi-finals of all three CONCACAF Gold Cups (making the final twice and bringing one trophy home) and gotten to the knockouts of the FIFA World Cup. He has made his fair share of questionable selection and tactical decisions, but at the end of the day, such a record is hard to argue against.
Prior to this tournament, Gregg Berhalter's record in charge of the USMNT did not have any glaring ... [+]
Add to that the fact that there is no obvious candidate to replace Berhalter and do a significantly better job than this, and it should become clear why sacking him would be a very tough call. If someone like Jürgen Klopp is actually up for a national team job then most federations in the world would ditch their current coach in a heartbeat, but it is quite unlikely that he will take up such a job right now.
Besides, even if Klopp was in charge of the USMNT going into this tournament, they would not have been among the favorites. The most important thing for a national team is quite simply to have good players, for which a well-structured and well-implemented nationwide youth development setup is necessary. The reason Uruguay were better than the USMNT is mostly down to the fact that a great proportion of kids in the States never get the chance to have a shot at professional football thanks to the pay-to-play system in the country.
The harsh reality is that there is no quick fix to the USMNT’s issues. Unless the national approach to football–particularly at the youth levels–does not change, no coach in the world can make them one of the world’s best teams.
