‘One of the Best Teams in the World’ – How Will Gregg Berhalter & the USMNT Define Success at Copa America?

A pre-tournament humbling

By the end of this summer, the USMNT’s match against Colombia will either look like the world’s biggest blessing, or an ominous sign of things to come.

To kick-start their preparation for the Copa, the U.S. took on Colombia, a team that they could run into again in the quarterfinals of the tournament, if everything goes well. They were embarrassed. Colombia ran away as 5-1 winners, dampening the USMNT’s Copa America preparations in humiliating fashion.

“I think a lot of times, especially playing in CONCACAF games, we can kind of get away with just being individuals,” said U.S. defender Chris Richards. “And I think you saw it in the Colombia game. That’s why we got killed: we were just playing like it was a CONCACAF game. I think that was kind of a warning for us, kind of an eye opener that if we want to be able to beat big teams, if we want to be able to compete with big teams, we can’t just go play however you want to play.

“You have to play as a team. I think that’s something that we want to show going into the tournament.”

The U.S.quickly took a step forward with their second friendly, earning a 1-1 draw with Brazil. It was a significantly better performance, one that helped silence some of the alarm bells that were rightfully ringing after the Colombia result.

“I think we had to really look at ourselves and hold ourselves to a higher standard,” said UWMNT forward Christian Pulisic, the undeniable face of American soccer in this current generation. “There were some conversations within the team and with the coaches and everything and I think they were really positive ones. We said that ‘This isn’t us, that that that wasn’t us.’ You can’t go out and and wait and see what’s going to happen. We needed to go out and take it to them right away and show that we’re here to play and, whatever happens, we have to respond.

“It happened again – Brazil scores a goal on us, but how did we respond? We hung in there. We got a goal back. We suffered through moments together. We understand that, when we’re playing the best teams in the world, we’re not gonna have the ball the whole game. We’re going to have to suffer.”

Pursuit of a signature win

Since missing out on the 2018 World Cup, the U.S. has taken multiple steps forward, particularly individually. However, one thing remains missing from their collective resume: a signature win.

Sure, there have been memorable results: the draw with England at the World Cup, the three CONCACAF Nations League triumphs, the draw with Brazil ahead of this tournament. There have not, however, been any of those big-time results over non-CONCACAF opponents that had become the hallmarks of prior generations of U.S. teams. Despite regularly being underdogs, those previous teams often found ways to emerge with unexpected wins.

There was Spain at the Confederations Cup, a win that ended La Roja’s legendary run. There was the Portugal triumph at the 2002 World Cup that set the stage for a historic tournament. Under Jurgen Klinsmann, the U.S. enjoyed friendly wins over Germany and the Netherlands to go with their memorable World Cup run.

This team is in need of similar results. Could they come at Copa America?

“Everybody sees the news, everybody sees the the papers, the podcasts,” Richards said, “but we try not to look at it like that. We’re just focused on what’s ahead of us. Eventually you win some of the games, and then all of them kind of end up being the staple wins. Our biggest thing is just making sure that we’re taking care of business each game we have.”

The opportunity for such defining wins will be on the menu. Uruguay is the USMNT’s final group stage opponent and after that would be a likely rematch with either Brazil or Colombia. The U.S. wants to be on the level of those teams and there’s only one way to prove it.

“I think results in tournaments is all you really need at the end of the day,” said UWMNT midfielder Gio Reyna, who could play a key role in elevating the team during Copa America. “Of course, it helps when you have good performances and it makes it easier, when you perform well, to win games, but we’re in this tournament to win. We can have three great performances and lose, but no one will really care at the end of the day. It’s all about results.

“We’re talking about the Euros and how these teams manage games, and Argentina throughout the World Cup. It’s not always going to be easy, but I feel like we’ve learned how to struggle in games and not concede goals and stick together through tough times.”

Pressure on Berhalter

For a segment of USMNT supporters, the outcome of this tournament may not change opinions on Gregg Berhalter. The USMNT coach is divisive – as many international coaches are, to be fair. The U.S. fanbase is, at minimum, split on the prospects of Berhalter as he heads into this second massive tournament in charge of the national team.

He has successes on his resume, notably the dominance of the CONCACAF region. He also achieved the primary objective of the 2022 cycle: return to, and perform well in, the World Cup. However, that lack of success against non-CONCACAF teams remains a talking point.

Berhalter isn’t necessarily on the hot seat this summer, but there is massive pressure to perform. This is a defining moment for American soccer, one this program can’t afford to squander. And, if it is determined that Berhalter is not the right man for the moment, it would almost certainly have to happen post-Copa – or not at all before the World Cup.

The USMNT enters Copa America with the fourth-longest odds to win the tournament among the 16 participating teams, behind Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and tied with Colombia and Mexico. Yet fan expectations are even higher. And the USMNT coach admits that he feels the weight that comes with leading this team into this moment.

“It’s about the team,” he said when asked about his job. “It’s about us believing in ourselves and going out and having a really good tournament. We know that, if we take it game by game, I think that’s the best route for success. We hope to get to the knockout round and really take everything we’ve learned over the course of this and put in a performance. That’s all we can control and, personally, that’s what I’m focused on.

“I think this whole tournament is an opportunity for this group to show how we’ve improved with our experience in these tournaments and what we can do against top opponents.”

A responsibility to grow the game

In a perfect world, the tournament would just be about the tournament. That’s the world most other national teams live in. But that’s not the case for the USMNT. Beyond what happens on the field, there’s an additional pressure that comes with establishing a culture.

Soccer is still an ascendent sport in the U.S., and the wider fanbase coalesces largely around major tournaments. For many fans, their exposure to the USMNT is predominantly through major events. To a large segment of the fanbase, those are the only games that matter.

The USMNT also deals with a unique circumstance – because of the diversity of soccer fans in the U.S., the USMNT are not always the “home team” when playing on home soil. Stadiums are regularly packed with opposition fans who have either traveled to the game or live in the U.S., but remain loyal to their heritage. That often means there is no home-field advantage for the USMNT.

Americans love winners, and the best way to get people to buy in? Win on the biggest stages – especially when those events occur on home soil. The 2024 Copa America and the 2026 World Cup are perfectly positioned to provide those opportunities – and this team knows it.

“We want to grow the game here and the best way to do it is, obviously, is holding more events here,” said USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie., whose tight friendship with teammate Tyler Adams is part of the fuel that propels the UMNT. “The World Cup is coming in 2026. I think just us as a as culture here in America, we’re are trying to push that envelope. But ultimately, I think it’s going to be kind of up to us. Everyone in America loves a winning team and our performances and our results do matter in terms of growing the game here.”

Wanting more

This USMNT group is acutely self-aware. They understand the role they play in American soccer. They’re both players and ambassadors and, if they want to be remembered as a golden generation, results matter.

Just playing in the World Cup won’t cut it; they’ve been there before. A solid run to the Copa America knockouts isn’t new; this program did it in 2016. For this group to truly advance the sport, they need to exceed the achievements of their predecessors, and there are a finite number of opportunities to do that over a player’s career.

The Copa is one of those chances. CONCACAF Nations League trophies and Gold Cups are all well and good, but it’s in the major tournaments that players become legends – and teams become history-makers.

“Everyone here wants it, that’s for sure,” says Pulisic. “You can you can feel it. When we get closer and closer to the game, you can feel that intensity at team lunches, in meetings. You feel that focus even more.

“The guys want it so bad. We all do. We want what the fans want. We want to show ourselves to be one of the best teams in the world. We want to compete with the best. We want to go out and we want to win this tournament.”

So what constitutes success for the USMNT at Copa America? That depends on who you ask. But for this current generation of players, it all comes back to that one word: Results. The time for progress is over. Now is the time to find out if the USMNT is ready to win.