The U.S. Men’s National Team was so disappointing in the Copa America tournament that even managers of rival teams are commenting on the train wreck.
Canadian coach Jesse Marsch, who was in the running for the United States coaching job before Gregg Berhalter signed the dotted line, is examining what went wrong after the horrific outing.
“I’d like to say that I’m only focused on what we’re doing here in Canada, but obviously I’m paying attention to the U.S. Men’s National team as I always do, and, like you, I’m sad,” the coach told reporters on Thursday, according to the Daily Mail.
“I’m disappointed with the performances, the lack of discipline. There are a lot of things that I think we’ve tried to embody about the game in the U.S., and we’ve always believed in this group of players.
“I’m not there every day, so I don’t have my finger on the pulse of what’s going on, but it’s certainly not what we expected coming into this tournament.”
Marsch has a history with American soccer.
He played 14 seasons as a member of the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer before moving to the bench as an assistant for the USMNT alongside coach Bob Bradley in 2010.
In 2018, Marsch won MLS Coach of the Year while leading the New York Red Bulls.
As he now prepares to lead Canada into a Copa America quarterfinal match against Venezuela on Friday night, the USMNT goes back to the drawing board after unacceptable results at the Copa America have Berhalter under fire.
Marsch’s direct comments about discipline are particularly noteworthy, considering the wild tension between the players and the referees during their 1-0 loss to Uruguay on Monday.
The USMNT was on the wrong end of several dicey calls, including the goal that ended their tournament run at the hands of Uruguay, which appeared to be offside by most accounts.
Their setback against Uruguay has signaled to many, including Fox Sports analyst and former USMNT star Alexi Lalas, that change may be needed.
“If the World Cup in 2026 wasn’t in the United States, I think the conversation would be a little bit different, but because of this train that is barreling down the tracks and coming at us — in a good way, because it’s going to be incredible — I think the conversation changes a little bit,” Lalas told The Post in an exclusive interview. “Over the next two years, you need somebody who is going to ignite and inspire a nation that we are headed in the right direction. You need a bigger-than-life personality.”
Lalas tabbed ex-Manchester manager Jurgen Klopp to be the charismatic voice fit for the job as the 2026 World Cup hosts.
Klopp, 57, blatantly flirted with the United States in an Instagram post, where he wished the Stars and Stripes a happy Independence Day while calling fans of the team “electric.”
“Someone like Jürgen Klopp is out there. I know people scoff at the idea of someone with his pedigree and background would ever consider doing this,” Lalas said. “But until you have the conversation, you don’t know.”
