US coach Berhalter on thin ice after Copa disaster

Gregg Berhalter's tenure as U.S. head coach could be on the line after his team failed to advance from the group stage of the Copa America following their crushing 1-0 defeat by Uruguay in Kansas City on Monday.

Backs to the wall in their final Group C game, the tournament hosts failed to deliver and were knocked out after Uruguay sealed top spot and Panama secured second place.

"We're bitterly disappointed in the results," Berhalter said at a press conference.

"We know that we're capable of more and at this tournament we didn't show it. It's as simple as that."

Asked whether he thought he was the right person to lead the team up to the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Berhalter was in no doubt.

"Yes," he said.

Not everyone agrees.

"The knives are out and they should be," said Alexi Lalas, a former U.S. player turned Fox Sports analyst.

"This is not good enough from Gregg Berhalter."

Clint Dempsey said he too had concerns about the future of Berhalter, who took the helm in 2018 and was rehired in 2022 with the support of the players following an extensive coaching search.

"I don't think we've progressed enough since the last World Cup," said Dempsey, another former U.S. player turned analyst.

"We're not on the right track."

With the World Cup just two years away and the U.S. desperate not to be embarrassed again on the international stage, Dempsey worried that replacing Berhalter came with its own risks.

"How long is that going to take? And who is someone who is good enough to take us forward that's out there waiting in the wings?" he asked.

"Those are questions that the federation need to figure out but for me, it hasn't been good enough."

U.S. fans were brimming with confidence when the