Gregg Berhalter said the USMNT’s 5-1 loss to Colombia was “a wake-up call” ahead of the Copa America. (1:02)
Coach Gregg Berhalter said the U. S. men’s national soccer team earned a “wake-up call” ahead of this summer’s Copa America in Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Colombia at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
The U. S. made a series of careless mistakes, conceding two goals in the first 19 minutes and three in the final thirteen minutes to claim the toughest defeat of Berhalter’s reign.
Since the 5-1 loss to Czechoslovakia in the 1990 World Cup, the U. S. had conceded as many goals as it did in the 5-0 loss to Mexico in the 2009 Concacaf Gold Cup final. It’s the first four-goal loss for the Americans since a 4-0 loss in a 2016 World Cup qualifier in Costa Rica that prompted the U. S. Soccer Federation to fire coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
“We don’t see this as a lesson learned. We offer it as a wake-up call. Very poor functionality against a more sensible team,” Berhalter said in his post-match press conference. “I think from the 75th minute it was a lack of respect towards our opponent, towards football and towards what we were doing. “
He added: “There are some obvious things you want to solve if you want to compete at this level. The guys just didn’t do their job. It is their role, their duty and we did not do it. “
A defensive error by Antonee Robinson and a meaningless defensive play by Johnny Cardoso, Timothy Weah and Cameron Carter-Vickers resulted in four goals in a lopsided result. The other goal came after Tim Ream failed to clear a corner and Rafael Borré fired an aerial shot. kick past goalkeeper Matt Turner.
“Everybody has to look in the mirror after this match and realize it because obviously we weren’t at the required level,” Turner told TNT Sports.
“I’m going to do it with the fans,” he added. That is not our goal. And yes, we have to recover considerably. “
Weah scored the USMNT’s lone goal in the 58th minute to briefly give the home team hope after Jhon Arias and Borré scored early for Colombia. But Richard Ríos, Jorge Carrascal and Luis Sinisterra found the net in 11 minutes after the match. , to the delight of the 55,494 pro-Colombian spectators dressed in yellow jerseys.
“As a coach, we assume our responsibilities. We can’t impose all of this on the players,” Berhalter said. “This game will make us perceive that if we don’t do the things we’re supposed to do, we’re going to get hurt very quickly. “
The U. S. will face Brazil in a friendly on Wednesday in Orlando, Florida, and then play its Copa America opener against Bolivia on June 23, followed by matches against Panama and Uruguay. The United States is one of six visitors to the tournament, the South American Championship.
Colombia extended its winning streak to seven and its unbeaten streak to 22 since a 1-0 loss to Argentina in a World Cup qualifier on Feb. 1, 2022. Colombia will face Bolivia in an exhibition match in Denver on June 15 and then play in a first match. Organization of rounds with Paraguay, Costa Rica and Brazil. The United States and Colombia could only meet in the quarterfinals.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.