Lay off Gregg Berhalter: USMNT's failure against Colombia wasn't coach's fault

A glance at the scoreline suggests that Saturday was a nightmare. And in many ways, it was. The US lost 5-1 to a Copa America rival. They conceded five goals from six shots on target. This all happened on home soil - although FedEx field, outside of Washington, D.C., was awash with Colombia yellow. The search for this so-called "signature win" goes on.

After the game, Tim Weah was asked to search for positives. He spoke of brief passages of play, and a mini surge after half time. Christian Pulisic lamented that the US was simply "nowhere near the level we need to play at."

Both are right. The US were often calamitous at the back. The first goal may have come from a fortunate diversion into the path of Jhon Arias, but veteran center back Tim Ream was caught on his heels as the Colombian ran through on goal. For all of the remarkable technique required for Rafael Barros' overhead kick to make it 2-0, US goalkeeper Matt Turner let it squirm by him far too easily.

The final three goals - conceded in the 77th, 85th and 88th minutes - were all results of egregious giveaways or defensive breakdowns. The USMNT were pushing to get back into the game - as any team down 2-1 really should - but lacked the individual quality to protect their own.

At the same time, there was hope. For the first 20 minutes of the second half, the US was in control. Weah's goal was a wonderfully constructed thing, the Juventus winger running onto Folarin Balogun's perfectly weighted pass and finishing well. But Colombia woke up, and seized control of the game. The US was playing a superior opponent - and were made to pay for their errors, right when they could have worked their way back into the game.

So, what of Berhalter? The US coach's credentials don't jump off the page. He spent time as a manager in Sweden, before enjoying success with the Columbus Crew, and took the USMNT job in 2018 - left to clean up the mess following the catastrophic loss to Trinidad and Tobago in 2018 World Cup qualifying. He was a manager dealt an awful hand - an aging squad with no public confidence in it.

Since then, Berhalter has steadily undergone bringing in a new wave of talent - the supposed USMNT golden generation. Pulisic has been made the center of everything, while Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Weah and others have been integrated into the side. Berhalter, for all of his critics, had the courage to tear everything down, and try to build something new.

And in that sense, Berhalter has instilled confidence. Much like Dider Deschamps' France or Gareth Southgate's England, the US coach brought together a group of players of roughly the same age group, who have played together throughout youth levels, and put them on the pitch together with a tactical idea. That took bravery, especially in a soccer culture that was still clinging to names such as Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Landon Donovan.

This took a wholesale refresh, with a new system, and Berhalter pulled it off.

But as a coach, that's where his influence ends. Berhalter can piece together his tactics, put the best side out. But once the first ball his kicked, there is only so much he can do.

Such was the case against Colombia. The USMNT boss pieced together an interesting setup on Saturday. With no Adams to turn to at the base of midfield, and an imbalanced forward line, he dropped Reyna into a deeper lying role. In some ways, it made sense. The US needed to keep the ball here, try to move through the thirds and create opportunities. Berhalter knew that Colombia was a good defensive side, who had pace at the back. Kick and run was not going to be an option.

Berhalter responded by asking his best passer to receive the ball further away from the goal than he normally would. It was an interesting idea - and a sensible one, too. But Reyna didn't execute it properly. He wasn't active enough off the ball, while the Colombia midfield, in effect, marked him out of the game. The US forward line constantly made vertical runs. A strangled midfield had no one to pass to.

At the break, Berhalter changed things. Pulisic came off - deemed only ready to play 45 minutes - while Reyna was pushed to a more advanced position. The game became stretched, perhaps too frenetic for his liking, but the US started to create. They were good value for their goal, and could have scored more. The flip side was what happened at the other end. Colombia were smart in their ability to soak up pressure, and frighteningly incisive when they had the ball. In the end, it came down to the visiting side capitalizing on US mistakes.

More broadly, that tactical tweaking was what these kind of international friendlies are for. Berhalter was working with limited resources. Adams, a stalwart of this US side, is still recovering from injury. Yunus Musah - also a likely starter - could only play for 30 minutes. Berhalter remains unsure as to who his starting No.9 might be, while Reyna's best position, or even participation, is up in the air.

So, given the fact that the scoreline of this match meant little beyond the optics, the coach had every right to play around with the system. Reyna's new position was a failed experiment, one that was amended at half time. The inclusion of Johnny Cardoso proved that the US might have a reliable deputy in the position to fill in for a spot that will surely be Adams' to keep. Haji Wright, meanwhile, showed promise on the left when Pulisic exited the game - showing that there's some tactical flexibility to be found on the wing.

To be clear, there were a lot of bad things happening on the pitch. Ream and Chris Richards had poor showings at the back, while Cameron Carter Vickers and Musah turned in abysmal cameos off the bench. Still, these are warm up games, meant to build toward Copa America - lessons to be learned.

So, the reactionary, "Berhalter out" brigade might just be a bit hasty in their calls for change. US soccer had their chance to ditch the coach in 2022 after the World Cup. They could have done it again when he was caught in an off-field scandal surrounding an alleged domestic abuse incident - one that Berhalter was subsequently cleared of. At the time, there were any number of managers who could have taken the job. Jesse Marsch, he has since made it known, was in the running. There was scattered talk of a number of big international names also under consideration.

But perhaps most tellingly, it was the players who fought for his return. Pulisic spoke up for the coach's return to the fray in June 2023, hailing his impact on the team. He admitted that the team had "given our input as much as we can." They had made it clear: they wanted their coach back.

And in agreeing to bring him back, presumably, until the 2026 World Cup, US soccer put themselves in something of a jam. They can't let him go now, not less than two weeks before the first ball is kicked at Copa America. They probably can't let him go after that, either, having missed the chance to bring in a series of desirable managers in the 18 months since the 2022 World Cup.

Zoom out, get off toxic social feeds, go outside ... and perhaps Berhalter really hasn't done the worst job at the helm. As well as refreshing the squad, the former Crew coach has won the Nations League twice, and 2021 Gold Cup. These may not be massive trophies, but he has brought a taste of success to the team that was in dire need.

Although US fans can lament the fact that they lost in the last 16 of the World Cup, there is little shame in falling to a Netherlands side that came within a penalty kick of beating eventual champions Argentina. The USMNT got about as far as they should have in Qatar - no manager could have made up for the difference in quality between the sides. Berhalter stuck to his principles and should be commended for that.

Copa America, of course, poses a different challenge - serious expectations have come into the mix. Adams has cooled the pressure on things, claiming that the tournament is viewed as "another stepping stone towards the World Cup." Perhaps he is right. The US should get out of their group, but after seeing them collapse as individuals against Colombia, it's hard to envision much further of a run. Things will be further tested on Wednesday. Brazil are next - the same team that beat a full strength Mexico using a team of backups. It's hardly the kind of fixture you'd want if you're looking for a bounceback win.

Berhalter is not a perfect coach. But this isn't a perfect U.S. team, either. Over the course of nearly six years, results have been agreeable - if not great. And being outmatched - or even outplayed - on home soil isn't necessarily cause for firing. Perhaps the USMNT just isn't as good as everyone wants it to be.