Christian Pulisic sees USMNT ‘nowhere near’ required Copa America standard as they hit 15-year low in humbling 5-1 defeat to Colombia

The United States are counting down the days to a major international tournament on home soil, with a star-studded continental competition set to get underway on June 20 – with Lionel Messi and defending champions Argentina get things up and running against Canada.

Gregg Berhalter had been hoping to see his side find form in pre-Copa friendly dates, but instead saw them fluff their lines badly against Colombia – with a consolation strike from Tim Weah just before the hour mark all that they had to show for their efforts against Colombia.

AC Milan star Pulisic, who filled the captain’s armband for his country, admits that performance levels need to improve dramatically. He told reporters after a heavy loss: “It just felt like they were waiting for us to make a mistake and then just kill us in transition. That’s just what happened over and over again. We were nowhere near the level we need to play at if we want to win games coming into Copa America.”

Matt Turner agreed with that assessment, with the experienced goalkeeper saying of a disjointed display: “We really just opened up and allowed them to do exactly what they were planning on doing to us. It’s frustrating, because we knew what we were getting into, and then we didn’t take care of our business. We can’t accept that level of effort from everybody - from all 27 of us and the coaching staff - if we want to have any success this summer.”

The USMNT hit a 15-year low in their mauling by Colombia, as they conceded five goals at home for the first time since a meeting with Mexico in 2009. They have another tough test to come against Brazil on Wednesday, before kicking off their Copa America group stage campaign against Bolivia on June 23.