LANDOVER, Md. — On Saturday, the United States men’s national team suffered their biggest defeat under Gregg Berhalter when they fell Colombia 5-1 on FedEx field. This was the first time the USMNT had allowed five goals since the 2009 Gold Cup final, which they lost to Mexico, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time as the red, white and blue players reached the group stages of the Copa America against Bolivia in June. 21. The USMNT made numerous simple mistakes and Colombia made them pay for each one, as the result could have been even worse had Luis Diaz not hit a shot off the post after the dispossession Antonee Robinson And Matt Turner come with a great salvation.
That said, the USMNT weren’t good enough when they needed to be and they paid for it, which led to Berhalter not mincing words after the match.
“Really disappointed with the result. We don’t consider it a lesson learned. We actually call it a wake-up call. Really poor performance against a top team. I know that if you give a team like that the chance chances we gave them, you have no chance of winning and that’s what’s really disappointing about the game,” Berhalter said. “I think the first half, if you look at the two goals they had, maybe two and a half chances in the first half and scored two goals, and then from the 75th minute I think there was a lack of respect for our players, opponent and the game of football, what we were doing.”
Berhalter couldn’t have put it more clearly when he talked about how his team fell apart late afterward Tim Ream was taken away and even reliable players like Antonee Robinson had difficulty with Colombia’s pressure. After the match, many team members had the same thoughts: that these types of results are unacceptable, but that a significant challenge is on the horizon.
“It was a wake-up call for us and we told the group and we are playing Brazil Wednesday,” Berhalter said.
Now it’s up to Berhalter and the players to heed this wake-up call and respond to it. They weren’t the only Concacaf nation to receive one, as Canada and Mexico both also lost friendlies by four goals during this international window, but improvement needs to happen soon or US Soccer will have to turn things around ahead of the World Cup 2026 might reconsider.
