How are the USMNT shaping up as they prepare to host the Copa America?

As the United States approaches two landmark tournaments hosted on its shores, the performance of its men’s national team is under more scrutiny than ever.

And understandably so. The 2024 Copa America and the 2026 World Cup offer a chance of a lifetime for US soccer to make its mark on an international scale. Making the most of a huge few years for the sport in the country is a must.

So to hear the USMNT coach, Gregg Berhalter, talk about a 5-1 defeat to Colombia in the penultimate warmup game before the Copa America being a “wake-up call” was a little worrying. Surely, given what’s at stake, they should already be wide awake.

Berhalter was re-appointed as the USMNT head coach in July 2023 having originally not had his contract renewed when it expired in December 2022.

The re-appointment was made by the former Southampton director of football, Matt Crocker, who became the technical director at the United States Soccer Federation ahead of this important cycle.

Head coaches of national teams can face a different kind of scrutiny to club managers, especially those whose nations have high expectations, and especially those whose nations will be hosting upcoming tournaments.

The pressure is on Berhalter, but it is expected pressure. While it can be beneficial for coaches and players to ignore the noise around performances, they can’t ignore the issues that produce that noise.

The 5-1 defeat to Colombia can only be a blessing in disguise or, as Berhalter put it, a wake-up call, if lessons are learned from it in terms of team mentality and preparedness as well as tactically.

It was the first time the United States men’s team had conceded five goals in a game since a 5-0 loss to Mexico in the 2009 Gold Cup.

Given how close this result was to the tournament itself, it was the very last chance to learn such lessons.

This team is widely considered one of the most talented groups the United States men’s team have had, but a lot of that still feels like it is based on unrealised potential rather than current ability.

Previous American teams earlier in the 21st century may have had some technical limitations but had recognisable game-changers such as Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan along with a resilient supporting cast.

Among this group, Christian Pulisic remains the go-to player and now has added experience to go with his talent, and is certainly up there with the aforementioned past players.

His free-kick against Brazil was a perfectly executed set-piece, fired in on the goalkeeper’s side as other players distracted the opposition wall and, for an important split-second, confused Brazil’s world-class goalkeeper, Alisson.

Those set plays rely on perfect execution, and on that occasion, it was something Pulisic could provide — his first international goal from a direct free kick.

This one set piece ultimately prevented the team from losing a second consecutive Copa warm-up game which would have led to further calls for Berhalter to be sacked before the tournament had even started.

Some weaknesses from the Colombia game were still evident against Brazil, but on this occasion, the opposition from South America couldn’t take the big chances they created.

US goalkeeper Matt Turner played as big a part in that game as Pulisic, saving a couple of those big chances as well as plenty of other shots. His 11 saves were the most a USMNT goalkeeper has made in one game since Tim Howard’s 15 against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup.

But this was still Brazil. A draw for the US against the biggest name and most successful team in the Americas is a good, morale-boosting result however it arrives.

As well as Pulisic, other players impressed. Tim Ream was imperious on the ball in defence completing 48 of 49 passes attempted, and the style of his passing in tight situations instilled confidence.

Tim Weah’s contribution was important, defensively as well as in attack down the right, having scored the goal against Colombia, while on the left, Antonee Robinson appears on the verge of a performance where he bags about three assists in one game and confirms his ascent to becoming one of the best full-backs in the upcoming tournaments.

Johnny Cardoso came off the bench to recover from the poor performance against Colombia, completing all 23 of the 23 passes he attempted.

Perhaps the biggest praise you can give to the United States is that it was a great test for Brazil ahead of their own Copa America campaign. Looking at the narrative from the opposition’s point of view can add a sense of perspective.

This is not the most convincing of Brazil teams, but on their day they still boast enough talent to win any game, or indeed tournament, in which they play.

The chances created against the US provided some encouragement from Brazil’s point of view but were also a sign that some of the USMNT’s issues from the Colombia game remained.

It was a marked improvement for the USMNT regardless. A more robust mentality was on show along with some more assured play on the ball.

They’ll need to combine both as they look to progress from their Copa America group which contains Panama, Bolivia, and one of the tournament favourites, Uruguay.

The Colombia game was a little late to be getting wake-up calls, given the Copa starts in just over a week, but better late than never.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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