Gregg Berhalter Seat On Fire After Embarrassing USMNT Loss To Panama At Copa America
The US Men's National Team opened their Copa América tournament with an impressive win over Bolivia, but the excitement was short-lived for manager Gregg Berhalter and his squad.
Despite entering Thursday night's match against Panama as heavy favorites, the US Men lost, 2-1. They played the majority of the match with 10 men after Tim Weah took a boneheaded and selfish red card.
Away from the play, Weah blasted a Panamanian player in the back of the head and, after video review, the referee sent Weah off.
Despite that, the USMNT scored shortly after to take a 1-0 lead. But they couldn't hold it. They allowed the tying goal less than five minutes after the go-ahead goal.
The USMNT lost to Panama at the Copa América and manager Gregg Berhalter might have to win next week to save his job.
(Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Also, during the first half, USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner suffered a nasty collision with a Panamanian player.
Although he remained in the game for the first half, Berhalter took Turner out after halftime, as it appeared he spent a good deal of time with team trainers.
That proved costly as backup keeper Ethan Horvath allowed a relatively soft goal late in the match that proved to be the winner for Panama.
Although Panama took a red card in the final minutes of regular time and also had to finish the match with 10 men, the USMNT couldn't get the equalizer.
All eyes are on USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter as the team is in danger of not reaching the knockout stage of the Copa América.
The loss puts the team in a very precarious position heading into the final match of the group stage at Copa América. They are probably going to have to beat Uruguay, one of the favorites to win the tournament, on Monday to advance to the knockout stage.
Not reaching the knockout stage would be a disastrous result for the USMNT and Gregg Berhalter. Former USMNT player Alexi Lalas didn't hold back after the match when discussing the manager's future.
"If [the USMNT] does not go through, Gregg Berhalter is going to lose his job, and rightfully and fairly so," Lalas said during Fox's postgame show. "But this is a situation that this team, including Gregg Berhalter, have created for themselves."
That sets up a bit of a win-win situation for many US Soccer fans. Either the team beats Uruguay and advances or they don't, and they're out – but Berhalter is gone.
Fans have been calling for his job for a long time, so if a loss at Copa América is what it takes to get him out, some folks might be willing to bite that bullet.