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A dreaded inquest into what went wrong for USA at the Copa America almost felt inevitable despite coming a lot sooner than anyone expected. Yet the question marks already lingering over Gregg Berhalter and the apparent Golden Generation at his disposal have now turned to exclamation points.

Not the kind of exclamation point that signals excitement, either. It is a sense of warning, a sense of panic after the sheer disaster that played out on these shores over the past six days.

Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Berhalter’s tenure as USMNT head coach reached its nadir as an underwhelming display and 1-0 defeat to Uruguay sealed their fate in a home tournament which should have been the perfect springboard two years out from a World Cup heading to these shores.

The hosts were unable to conjure up what would have been a great escape after last week’s shambolic 2-1 loss against Panama, a result which dented the ego of a team regarded the finest in the country’s history and shattered the confidence of its adoring fanbase. 

So, after coming second best to a team that trails them by 32 places in the FIFA World Rankings, and going out with a whimper at a championship in their own back yard, where on earth do USA go from here? 

Fan sentiment towards Berhalter had already soured before this summer’s Copa America had even got underway, with a 5-1 mauling at the hands of Colombia dampening the belief that he is best equipped to lead this group of players.

An opening 2-0 win over Bolivia then ultimately proved a false dawn, as the Panama debacle which followed left USA reeling and in need of an upset victory over a well-oiled Uruguay machine to hang in there.

A number of supporters flocked to Arrowhead for that date of destiny with their minds made up about Berhalter, signalling their opposition to his regime with damning t-shirts and signs in the crowd. Even if he turned this around, even if he dragged them through to the knockout stages by the skin of their teeth, they had seen enough to conclude he is not the man for the job.

Monday’s narrow loss, as Berhalter and several of his players pointed out, was not where they lost a grip on this tournament. It was by no means good enough, with a bright opening 20 minutes eventually fizzling out into mediocrity, but the damage done against Panama was ultimately irreversible. And for Berhalter, that slip-up must surely prove the straw that broke the camel’s back.

If USA want to avoid a similar humiliation when soccer’s greatest festival heads here in 2026, maintaining faith in the current coaching setup cannot be the answer. This was Berhalter’s World Cup audition and he has failed it in sinking colors. There are little to no positives that he, his squad or fans can draw from what has played out here this summer.

New leadership and fresh ideas are so desperately required to inject some life back into a roster packed with more than enough talent to emerge from a group containing Panama and Bolivia. Yes, there are arguments to be had about whether it is as talented as the Golden Generation tag implies. There are none to be had, though, about whether it stacks up to the team who made it through to the quarterfinals at their expense.

With three bright options upfront in Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun, and the likes of Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah in the middle of the park, there is a strong foundation for any potential new coach to work with going forward. 

Defensively, Berhalter has been able to lean on Premier League and Bundesliga talents in Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson and Joe Scally. Tim Ream may be in need of replacing at the age of 36, but the point to be made is that this is a USA roster underperforming by a long way.

After Monday’s bitter group-stage exit, Berhalter was asked if he believes the team has made progress in the last nine months. ‘Yes I do, I think in a number of ways,’ he said. ‘Defensively we’re a very good team, most games we have higher expected goals than the opponent, we create chances, we move the ball well.

‘To me the whole thing is you want to keep moving the team forward, and we have.’

If being grouped by Panama wasn’t disheartening enough, Berhalter’s claim to be on the right track afterwards is perhaps the most telling sign of all that a change is required.

While throwing a group of young players – with an average of 25 years and 255 days – under the bus after such a seismic failure may not have been a wise move, it is inconceivable for USA’s leader to champion his work in the wake of a complete failure.

Whether it’s another American coach or a name from abroad, the country’s men’s soccer team is crying out for a new vision and a breath of fresh air with a dark cloud now looming over the World Cup.

Keeping the faith in a regime that has crashed and burned at the smallest of first hurdles this summer is asking for trouble in 2026.