US World Cup exit stings but future is bright, says Berhalter

United States coach Gregg Berhalter said their World Cup last-16 exit ater a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday was difficult to accept but he took heart from the progress made by his young squad ater their baptism of fire on the big stage.

The Americans made a bright start to the match and almost took an early lead through Christian Pulisic, who was brilliantly denied by goalkeeper Andries Noppert before the Dutch punished them with their first atack.

Memphis Depay and Daley Blind scored almost identical goals, finishing off precise and free-flowing team moves, to deliver a sucker punch and although Haji Wright pulled one back for the Americans, Denzel Dumfries switly extinguished any hopes of a comeback by restoring the two-goal cushion.

“This is a tough one to swallow for us. The guys put everything they had into it and tonight we came up short but it wasn’t for lack of trying or a lack of effort,” Berhalter told reporters.

“The first half was a great indication of the game being about moments. We were on top for a lot of the first half and two moments come and all of a sudden we’re 2-0 down. The message was soccer can be cruel sometimes.

“It’sjustmomentsthattheplayerswere(switched) off a litle bit here and there and it ends up in the back of the net. When you play at this level, against high quality opponents, that’s what happens. It’s unfortunate that it happens in the knockout game, but it did and we’ve got to learn from it.”

In a performance that encapsulated both the positives and weaknesses of the Americans’ World Cup campaign, they did not lack chances but struggled to finish them off and were made to pay for their complacency by a clinical Netherlands side.

The US will co-host the next World Cup in 2026.