U.S. Against the World: Four Years with the Men's National Soccer Team (2026) s01e02 Episode Script
Not So Golden
1
[TV static drones]
[bright tone]
[pensive music]
♪
- On the flight home
from Qatar,
I mean, we were pretty
happy with our performance
in the World Cup.
And it kind of felt
like everything was
headed in the right direction.
- When I was leaving Qatar,
I felt like
if this team could
take the next step,
if certain players
in the group
could advance their game,
the things that everyone
was talking about,
the golden generation,
the possibilities
at a home World Cup,
maybe they were true.
Maybe this team could
make a special run.
- But we get home,
and there was some controversy
that kind of started to swirl
around the team and the group.
And I think we all know what--
what came after that.
- U.S. Men's soccer
head coach Gregg Berhalter
- In the wake
of the World Cup,
a controversy erupted
between the Reyna family
and the Berhalter family,
one that would
call into question
Gregg Berhalter's path back
to being
the national team coach.
- But also his contract
was expiring.
There were many
differing opinions
outside of our team
in U.S. soccer
that were voiced
pretty heavily.
- I don't think
that the U.S. should,
or any national team,
should have a World Cup coach
for more than one
World Cup cycle.
The players just need
to hear a different voice.
- Gregg was a bit
in the hot seat.
- Because obviously, Berhalter
has said he wants to continue.
And he wants to go forward.
But can he? Should he?
- It was a lot of ups
and downs and twists and turns.
- Director Earnie Stewart
said that
Gregg Berhalter
still under consideration
for the national team manager.
- Then he was rehired
for the head coaching job.
- What did Gregg Berhalter do
that makes you believe
that there is
yet another step to be taken?
- I guess it's the safe route?
- There was a lot
of talk from the outside.
- Is Gregg Berhalter a good
coach for this national team?
- We're gonna have
to come back to in six months
and see where we're at.
- But we had
some good results.
Nations League titles,
we got two of those.
- Chris Richards!
[exciting music]
2♪
- And headed away.
Reyna!
- And before Copa,
we definitely
had some inconsistent results.
- Nice follow-through.
And then the overhead kick
is absolutely spectacular!
♪
- That, I guess, made a lot
of the outside world question
whether we had
the right players,
whether we had
the right system,
whether we had
the right coach.
- We thought we were ready.
- We going for it ♪
We going for it ♪
Jumping off the block ♪
Baby, I was born for it ♪
No need to tally up ♪
We keep on scoring,
scoring ♪
I already been
in that mode ♪
Just pushing ♪
Yeah, I'm just
pushing through it ♪
All eyes on me ♪
And they hate
to see me do it ♪
I can't drive on ♪
That's no longer
on me the choices ♪
Only choice is just
to say my name in vain ♪
You cannot tell me they're
feeling the same thing ♪
Us against the world ♪
It's really us against ♪
Against the world ♪
- Copa América is
the oldest tournament
in international football.
And it is the most important
trophy in South America.
The U.S. doesn't typically
get to participate
in the Copa América.
They were a guest team and,
this time around, the host.
There were
enormous expectations
around the U.S. team
to compete in this tournament.
- We were all feeling
the pressure from the outside,
and Copa América was
kind of our chance to be like,
all right,
this is how we shut up people.
This is how we do it,
this on-the-field stuff.
Because that's all
we can control.
- The most important
building block
between the World Cup in 2022
and the World Cup in 2026.
- Copa was a chance
and an opportunity
for us to show that
we were progressing,
that we were we were moving
in the right direction,
and that Gregg was
the right person
to lead us into the next phase
and throughout the cycle.
- And then, yeah,
what happened happened.
[dramatic music]
[distorted speech]
♪
[indistinct chatter]
[applause]
- Hey, welcome.
The front row.
That's supposed to go there.
- Thanks, Mary.
Before the Q&A,
I'll just start off
and give a little
background to what
we have going on this summer.
We're really looking
at this Copa América
as continuing
the building blocks
from World Cup 2022
to Copa América
to World Cup 2026.
18 of the players
on the 26-person roster
were at the 2022 World Cup.
So let's talk
about the new players.
Chris Richards,
he would have been on 2022.
Miles Robinson,
would have been on--
Malik Tillman is the guy
that was right there.
Ricardo Pepi
was right there also.
So we're talking about
a more talented player pool
than we had in 2022.
So we're excited
about that group
and what this team can do
at the international level.
Our group is gonna be
Bolivia, Panama, and Uruguay.
Uruguay is a top team.
So that's gonna be
a big challenge
that we're dealing with.
[applause]
- I mean, these are
powerhouse countries.
These are World Cup winners,
teams like Argentina,
Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay,
teams that they
don't normally come across
in a tournament play.
- The last time
the United States played
in the Copa América was 2016.
They advanced
to the semifinals,
where they lost
to Messi and Argentina,
one of the best teams
in the world.
So with this golden generation
and more players
playing at top clubs
in Europe than ever before,
the expectation around this
team was higher than ever.
- When I was, like,
five or six,
we ended up moving
to Germany 'cause my dad
was in the military.
- Yeah, I still remember
whenever I first got there
and we were unpacking the car.
We lived next to, like,
an elementary school.
And there was, like,
kids over there playing,
and I walked over,
and I saw them, like,
kicking this big ball,
which was a soccer ball.
And I'm like,
I'm referencing it to, like,
the bowling ball or something.
Like, oh, my God, that must
hurt their feet so bad.
[indistinct chatter]
It was when I just
started playing soccer,
and I just picked it up.
My mom took me out of school,
and we drove
to the American base.
And it was the national team.
At that time, I didn't
even know existed.
You know, it was Beas,
it was Landon Donovan,
Carlos Bocanegra, and Gregg.
After that moment,
my ultimate goal,
when I moved from Germany
back to America
was to play
for the national team.
- McKennie cutting back.
Weston McKennie on his debut!
Is that a moment we're gonna
be looking back on
in the years to come
as the start of something
special for Weston McKennie?
- And then find a way
to get back to Europe.
[indistinct chatter]
Juventus as a club,
it's one of the most
storied clubs in football.
Like, for me to be able to,
like, come here and play,
it's something special.
[speaking Italian]
- I remember
when he called me to tell me.
He was like,
guess what team called me.
I said, who?
He said, Mommy,
I'll never, ever guess,
and you'll never believe.
I'm like, who?
He said, Cristiano Ronaldo.
I'm like, what?
He said, yes, Juventus.
What?
I was so happy.
They could have
gotten any player.
But they found mine.
You know?
My kid, they found him.
- Me and my family,
we sacrificed so much.
And now I'm playing
the sport that I love.
- From little to,
like, academy to now,
it's, like, whoa.
That makes me emotional
because I'm--
I'm like, he did it.
Like, we did it. He did it.
[tender music]
And all his hard work
and now he can
show his craft to the world.
♪
It's amazing.
- You have
the ball at your feet,
and you can kind of
just create something.
It's like an artist
trying to paint.
Like, you can create
something with the ball
that people are drawn to
or that connect with people.
Whenever you think of America,
you think of American football.
You think of basketball.
You think of baseball.
You think of hockey,
maybe even before
you think about soccer.
And I think now things
are changing in a way
where people are like,
okay, well,
Americans can also play soccer.
- You know, back
in the day, it was
only one, two guys
that were playing abroad
that were having success.
Whereas now, you turn on
the TV on any given day,
and there will
probably be an American
on the field on some team,
whether it's Germany,
England, Italy.
We're trying to take
over everywhere.
[dramatic music]
- For four Americans
to be playing
in such a massive game,
you know me, Tim Weah
at Juventus,
and Yunus and Christian
at AC Milan.
It's such a beautiful thing,
but a long overdue thing.
[exciting music]
- Nice. Nice!
Come on, Wes.
Yeah!
- We're in this moment,
and you're in that zone.
You don't really, like,
take a step back
to realize the magnitude of it.
If you would have told
11-year-old, 12-year-old me
playing "FIFA" at home
that you're gonna be
playing for that team
in that stadium,
I would have thought
you were crazy.
Like, me and Tim Weah
were just looking at videos.
The day before this game, I was
showing them old videos of him
when he had his afro,
his long hair.
And I'm, like,
pulling a prank like, yo
Tim, Tim, we're late.
[laughter]
- Come on, man.
- Just being able to grow up
with a national team, it's
something special, you know?
It makes it that much
easier to sacrifice
more on the field for them.
We ride together,
die together on the field,
for sure,
and in an everyday life.
[upbeat music]
When the coach
gives you one day, two days,
everyone's
booking stuff straight away.
It's bop, bop, bop, bop!
Monaco.
It's a 3 1/2-hour trip
from Turin.
This is like my second home,
my home away from home.
We gotta go to the casino.
We got dinner.
We did a little bit
of shopping.
I had a lot of people
that came out.
You know, it was my mom.
I could see Timmy tomorrow.
Christian came out as well.
- West?
West is doing
whatever West wanted.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
I feel like I just, like,
went up a new tax bracket,
like a--you know what I mean?
[laughter]
[cheering]
♪
- Hi.
[baby babbles]
- Loser gets up in the middle
of the night with him, right?
So you wanted Dad last night
at 1:00 a.m., not me.
- What's the problem, Jax?
Wanting some deep shit
right now.
- He's so laid back
for everything in life.
But when it comes
to competition, like,
he will compete with me
for drinking a glass of water
at the dinner table.
It is exhausting.
I know you keep trying
to look at my cards.
Uno, oh.
[laughs]
- Draw two. Draw two.
Draw two immediately.
- You're distracting me.
I'm not drawing two.
- Draw two immediately.
Sarah, you're not
playing by the rules.
- Fine. Fine.
- Draw two.
But I still get to go.
- You don't get to go.
- Yes, I do.
- Stop.
- No.
- Stop it. Sorry, Jax.
- I can't go. I can't go.
Can't go. I can't go.
I still can't go.
- Jackson, wow!
- What?
- I'm the champion, Jax.
Sorry, buddy.
I'm gonna have
to sweep tonight.
- And now that he's been
injured for this year,
it's been even heightened.
It's--I deserve an award after
this of how long I've stayed.
It's been a long year
for me too, you know?
Don't put that in,
but it really has.
- Getting injured was
a tough time in my career.
You know, it's been
more than a year now
of not playing consistently.
[soft music]
But dealing with a lot of ups
and downs in my career,
that's all going
to the back burner for me
because I have
something more that
I work for every single day.
Fatherhood is
so important to me.
I didn't know what
it meant for so long
'cause I didn't have
a father growing up.
And then when my dad, Daryl,
came into my life,
I quickly realized why it's
so important to have a father.
- Having Jax
has brought me so much peace
because Tyler's career
is so crazy.
I mean, we move on the drop of
a dime to different countries.
He brought everything
we were missing, kind of,
from moving over here
and now has just
given us such a bigger purpose
and fulfillment
in everything we're doing.
He's gotten rid
of a lot of the anxiety
that comes with his career,
and now he can
just let that go
when he comes home
and just enjoys
every second with the baby.
- It was the first time
in a long time
that I had something to look
forward to consistently
outside of soccer.
[baby babbles]
And then I'm watching her
become a mother
is one of the most
beautiful things that's
ever happened in my life.
From the time I first started
playing professional soccer,
I remember all the dads
bringing out their kids after
games and, man,
I can't wait for that moment.
To fast forward ten years,
and I'm the person
that's bringing out my son
onto the field now.
♪
Having Sarah hold him
and being able to see them
and just wave to them
It's--it's so special.
[excited chatter]
Oh, my God.
You about to roll over?
Tell me you just
fucking recorded that.
Oh, my God!
- Did I just
miss him rolling over?
- He just rolled over.
- No!
No!
- Oh--
- No, Dad's lying.
He's lying.
- He has the footage.
There's a lot to process
when we're thinking
about this Copa América.
- What we do there,
especially being on home soil,
is gonna be big.
It's gonna be important.
- I think from
a team perspective,
we do look at this
as a mini World Cup.
I mean, how do you not?
- This is the first, like,
real test for us right now.
[dramatic music]
- It's an opportunity
to test ourselves
against opponents that
we don't ever get to play.
You know, when I look
at South America,
the technical ability
Along with the grit
and competitiveness,
is superior
to almost everywhere.
- This group has
been told for a long time now
that they're
a golden generation.
But if you want to be
the golden generation,
you have to be able
to go out on the field
and prove that you can go
further in a tournament
than any American team
has done before you.
And now you have a chance to
do it before the World Cup--
to build belief
in the country that you're
capable of what everyone
thinks you're capable of.
♪
[indistinct chatter]
[screams, laughter]
[indistinct chatter]
- Can I step on my left
first this time?
- [laughs]
Normally it's the right one.
- A really difficult aspect
of coaching the national
team is that
you have to be the best
of the best.
And it's a team that no one's
guaranteed a position.
Yet you wanna create
psychological safety.
You wanna create
this team environment
where everyone feels part
of something.
- Whew!
- Oh.
- Wait, roll it.
- On the wall.
- [laughs]
- When they come
into our environment,
we want them to know that
we care deeply for them,
and we wanna give them
every possible chance
to succeed at this level.
- Okay, I'll try to
- Yeah.
- Not hurt you.
- I'll be ready.
I'll be okay.
- Whoops.
- And the national team
is such a sanctuary.
- It's perfect.
- Good to just be around the
guys that know and love you.
[mellow upbeat music]
- Coming in here, it keeps
that drive alive for me.
These guys are
young 20-somethings
and they are like brothers.
And in some instances,
they are like kids.
They are like my kids.
The crap you guys talk about,
it's stuff my ten-year-old
talks about.
So it's like
I've never left home.
- Three minutes, boys.
We start in three minutes.
[excited chatter]
- I always
relate it as going
to an away tournament
as a young kid,
where you finally get
to bunk with your friends.
You know you're there to do
a job, and you all wanna win,
but you're relaxed
because it's your friends.
Yeah, it's good fun, man.
- Tyler!
Go easy like-a spaghetti
with the meat-a-ball.
- When you create that
type of environment
where you really care
about the individual
and care about
the human being side of it,
you get good results.
- Fucking Vinnie, man.
[laughs] Let's go.
- Let's just focus today
on sliding back and forth.
- We love Gregg.
We're all a bunch
of young kids just
eager to win, eager to play,
and he's done
such a great job.
- He is still
a pretty young guy,
you know, and he
relates really well
to the majority of the group,
and I think that
that's super special.
- Gregg, you know
where we're from.
[laughs]
- Is that the Pulisic model?
- Dude, when are they gonna get
the McKennie, seriously?
- The most special part
of taking a team two cycles
is to see
the individual growth.
That's been the most
gratifying thing to me
is to see these guys grow up
and how much they've
bonded with each other,
and in the end,
how good of people they are.
- Every time you step into camp
again, it's like being home.
[indistinct chatter]
♪
[indistinct chatter]
[cheering]
- Come on!
[indistinct chatter]
- Come on!
[chatter, laughter]
♪
- You're gonna tap in
this Copa?
You're gonna be dialed in?
- I hope.
- We didn't do
all that buttering up
in fucking Orlando
to have you not score.
God damn.
Buttering up.
[laughs] Yeah, taking him--
take him to dinner.
- Folarin Balogun
is head and shoulders
above any striker we have.
Incredible. Not even close.
[announcer speaking language]
- Here you got a guy
who was born in New York
but was raised in England
scoring a ton of goals
over in France,
and he's got a chance to commit
to this U.S. Men's
National
at a striker position that
they desperately need.
[dramatic music]
To be eligible for the
U.S. Men's National Team,
it's pretty simple.
You need to be eligible
for a U.S. passport.
And because of that,
things got
a little bit over the top
with his recruitment.
- As Americans, we are
seeing what you are doing,
and we love it.
- You are the missing piece
to this puzzle for us to have.
- We're in Monte Carlo,
where I call home.
Yeah, beautiful place,
you know?
My journey to team's
a little bit unique.
My mom always told me
the story growing up,
but I never really
paid it any mind.
She came to the U.S.
to visit her sister,
and she had her return ticket.
But then they said that
she was too pregnant.
[soft music]
So I was born in New York
but grew up in London.
Choosing to represent
the Men's National
was something I thought
about for a long time,
because the difference
between international football
compared to club football is,
you can transfer clubs.
But once you choose who you
represent internationally,
that's you,
and, like, it's fixed.
You can't change it.
We met with the coach
at the time.
He explained to me
how much he felt
I was a key piece
to the jigsaw.
And as a player,
that's the sort of stuff
that's gonna motivate you and
make you wanna run
through a brick wall,
not just for your manager,
not just for your teammates,
but for the nation itself.
In life, you get quiet signs
of, like,
the right choice to make,
and you're kind of guided
by something above.
And you have to listen to it.
The way I was eligible
to represent America,
and I was just kind of like,
I'm not gonna be the person to
stand in the way of this story.
I spoke to my agent,
and I said,
this is the jersey I wanna be
scoring goals in, and
now we're at a stage,
you know,
I'm gonna be competing
on the biggest stage
in the world for my country,
and I couldn't be prouder of--
I wanna make history.
- Yes, Balo!
- Going into the opening game
of the Copa América,
yeah, I feel like
I have a quiet pressure
that I bring about myself
wanting to give back
on the biggest stage.
This is the sort of game
where you can really
make a difference,
make an impact.
The boys share that
together we can
achieve something great.
- Gearing up.
One game at a time mentality.
Think about how we get
our performance
at the levels that we need.
Use this training to get us
there as a group collectively
that we get
on the field tomorrow,
we're ready to kick ass.
Come on, boys.
- All right, boys,
over to the sticks.
- The U.S. is getting
ready for their opener
against Bolivia here
in Copa América 2024.
- They're coming in
pressing teams a lot higher
and a lot more aggressive.
We worked on it
today in training,
and we'll have a really
good game plan for it.
- He doesn't need to come back
down on the immediate press.
- And he's forcing--
- U.S. right now second
favorite to win the group.
How far do you think
that this U.S. team
under Gregg Berhalter can get?
- Semifinal
is the expectation.
- If they don't do that,
you think it'll be a failure?
- Leading into summer of 2026,
the most important summer
in U.S. soccer history,
you need to believe that this
is a team worth following.
[dramatic music]
♪
- Think how much
this group has grown.
Think personally how much
you guys have grown.
Think how many experiences
we've shared,
all to get us to this moment
and these opportunities.
This is what we're
built for, guys.
Moments like this.
Opportunities like this.
♪
Warrior mindset.
We put everything
out there, right?
We come back
in this locker room
and we move on
to the next game.
It's about every duel,
every play, every pass.
We go all in.
- We are underway
here in Dallas.
The men of the
United States wearing white.
Bolivia, known as La Verde,
the Greens.
Tim Weah, early cross--
and he's cornered
with a flying karate kick.
- U.S. brought it, and now
they get the pass away.
- And Pulisic already,
you see him
trying to get the crowd going,
and they've responded.
- Short to Weah.
[cheering]
What a start
for the United States!
♪
- What a terrible tackle
that is.
My goodness.
- Yellow card shown.
- Steps in to win that back.
- Pulisic calling for it.
Able to turn on it.
Pulisic on the run.
Pulisic with options
either side.
Here's Balogun now.
Balogun on the deck,
and it's in!
[cheering]
Balogun scores,
and the U.S.
doubles their lead.
[cheering]
- Congrats on your
first Copa América win.
Well done.
- Congrats on the performance.
Felt like the game plan
was so effective.
How pleased were you?
- The biggest thing was,
there wasn't any doubt.
To get the early goal really
took a lot of pressure off.
- Tournaments are long.
This is just that first step
in the journey.
Atlanta tomorrow.
What do you wanna build on?
- It's always important
to win your first game.
The performance was good,
but it can improve.
But the most important thing
for us now is just Panama.
That's all it is.
We focus on Panama, and we
go and try to win that game.
- Congrats, thank you.
- Thank you.
- Daddy.
- Oh, I miss you too.
Look at this. Look.
This is where we've been
playing football, you see?
- Whoa! Look at that.
- It's really big, isn't it?
- It's very big.
- Yeah, does it look good?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, we've been
kicking a ball.
- Crazy.
- Are you playing football?
- We're playing football, yeah.
- Where's Daddy?
- In America.
- Yeah, I'm in America.
It's hard for Darcy.
She's back in England
and having to look
after two kids on her own.
That's the bit that makes
it the hardest for me is
leaving her to single parent.
I know just doing it with the
two-year-old is hard enough.
So doing it with two.
Yeah, she's--[laughs]
Yeah, she's a better woman
than I am a man.
She's built differently.
What plaster?
- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye. I love you.
- Bye!
- Mwah, mwah, mwah!
- [laughs]
- Atlas, can you do that?
[laughter]
- Bye, Dad.
- Bye-bye.
The message has been the
whole time that we wanna win,
making it worthwhile
that I've been away
for a long time and being
able to celebrate
with the people who I love most
when I get back.
We just need to make sure that
the things that we can control
are in our favor.
It's to play our game plan
and then get it done.
- Let's move on to Panama.
- This is their most
traditional way
of starting play.
- Are we saying
don't press the goalie?
- That's what
we talked about last night.
- Should we just get up there
and then just drop back?
- But I don't think--
- At one point we were
discussing dropping 40 yards,
and then the conversation
shifted to this like
- Strike these
long balls, right?
- They're good
at counterattacking
these kind of situations.
They kind of thrive in these
kind of flick moments.
Key players, Carrasquilla.
- And he smashed the ball,
by the way.
- It's winning
the ball or foul.
There's only two options.
It's a foul or win the ball.
- Here, you have backwards.
- It's much harder for--
[overlapping speech]
[upbeat music]
♪
- How do you
approach Panama specifically?
So those games have been,
for lack of a better word,
very chippy.
- We don't know which
Panama team we're gonna get.
We're just gonna make sure
that we come out 100%.
- All we're focused on,
boys, is our own performance.
All we're focused on is
improving from last game.
- Panama looked pretty good
in the second half,
but the first, like, 10, 15--
anyway, if you don't release,
and like when they play like
this, bro, you get fucked.
- They're extremely athletic,
technical as well,
and they can hurt you.
They're really fast up top.
- Tim, the ball's
gotta be faster.
- We're gonna have
to be on it physically
and mentally to win the game.
- That's the idea.
Early in the game,
get after 'em.
Put 'em under pressure.
- And if they
start grabbing you,
and they grab you
for long enough,
make sure that the referee
knows that they're fouling you.
- Lower, West! Lower now!
Yes! Yes!
[indistinct chatter]
And we go!
Once we get in their half,
just play soccer.
We'll do it one more time where
we get up into their half.
Keep your positioning.
Look to break 'em down.
Look to lock 'em in.
We got Iván Barton.
And I'm telling you right now,
it's a bad rap.
In soccer,
you have bad referees.
We know it coming
into the game.
That makes it even better.
We're armed for it.
Now, what do we do?
We stay calm.
We stay cool. We play our game.
- This team
is gonna be physical.
This team's going to be
well prepared.
So are we.
They don't wanna play
at a fast tempo.
We do.
When someone wants to go
toe to toe with us,
they better be prepared
that we're gonna throw
the first punch, right?
And we're gonna be
the first player to put
someone on their fucking ass.
- We put the game
on our terms today.
That means we play fast,
we play hard,
and we play together.
That's all we do.
We worry about our performance.
Then we go out
and we kick some ass.
One, two, three
all:
USA!
[dramatic music]
- It is not easy
to get anywhere
in the city of Atlanta.
About 55,000 tickets
were sold for this game,
and another
terrific atmosphere
as there was Sunday in Dallas.
And it lifts this U.S. team
on to the next round
in the last eight standing
in the Western Hemisphere.
We are underway!
It is the men of the
United States wearing white.
- They don't drive, then
you're gonna get in behind.
But it can open up space
for teammates.
You constantly need movement
against a very low block.
It should be a foul.
- Oh, he's tripped up
and goes down.
Into the middle!
It's Richards.
It's saved off the line.
The rebound's loose.
McKennie is there!
Less than five minutes in,
and another early goal
for the U.S.
to take the lead!
- But I'm interested
to see here,
it looked like Tim Ream
was in an offside position,
and he's the first one
that makes the contact
once it comes off.
- Well, John,
the referee's
not gonna go
to the monitor to check
a factual offside decision.
- Yeah, it's offside.
It was.
- By David,
just on the sideline.
Bárcenas picks it up now.
Up and running to the center.
The cross is meant for him,
and he cleans out Matt Turner.
Matt Turner's down hurt.
♪
All right, Jenny, that was
on your end of the field.
What are you seeing down there
right now for Matt Turner?
- Oh, I know you guys
were getting some of those
same visuals, but clearly,
it is that left leg.
It appeared to be
that left thigh.
Matt Turner was visibly
very uncomfortable,
very upset with
the officiating as well.
Now, keep in mind,
he has never beat Panama.
He lost in the Gold Cup
last summer to them.
And he said to me,
this match means so much
because he wants to get a win
against Panama.
He's back on his feet,
walking it off.
Let's see how he responds,
guys.
- I'm still also baffled
how that's not a yellow card.
He can't do anything there,
Matt Turner.
[cheering]
- Full hour played.
We've lost about six
minutes in total.
Now there's a coming
together off the ball.
Roderick Miller is down.
Tim Weah--
- It's almost like
we expected this
to start to boil over.
And that's where,
again, it becomes
important for yellow cards,
and this time Iván Barton
decides to give
Tim Weah a yellow card.
And he's trying to say
it was shoulder to shoulder.
I was focused on the ball,
so didn't necessarily see
how much the contact
was from Weah off the ball.
But this thing's
gonna start to boil up here
exactly as we expected.
♪
Yeah, it's red.
- There you go.
- He's taking away the yellow,
giving a red card.
- And the U.S.
will play with ten
for the entire
rest of the night.
So you've gone
in about 10 minutes here
from the U.S. thinking
they're up 1-0
and sailing, great position,
early goal,
to now at 0-0 be playing down
a man the rest of the way.
- Yeah.
- Balogun trying to return it.
Back to Balogun!
It's in!
Off the inside of the post!
What a goal
from Folarin Balogun!
Blackman. Robinson was there.
Didn't get it out cleanly.
It's a goal. Panama score.
- A lot to pack in
this first half.
- Here we go.
We're in for a fucking fight.
You guys ready?
- Yeah.
- Huh?
We were all expecting this.
Huh?
45-plus minutes left
in the game, boys.
We'll get one chance. Come on.
- We got this.
- We're making
a couple changes.
We're going to a 5-3-1.
5-3-1.
Tyler, you're gonna come out.
You're gonna come in, right?
This is how it's gonna be.
This is where
it gets fun, boys.
Come on.
We dig.
- Let's go, boys! USA!
Let's rip their hearts!
- Horvath will
be coming on for Matt Turner
to start the second half.
- It's a moment
of adversity for this team.
You're down a man.
Everything has started
great in the first game.
So let's see what
this team is made of.
How do you dig in?
How do you fight?
How do you get
yourself into the game?
How do you still find moments
to create chances?
[tense music]
♪
- Pulisic is tripped up
and goes down.
Balogun wants it.
Can he drop it in?
Oh, can he?
Balogun. Balogun.
Doesn't have much of an angle.
Doesn't need it!
Oh, it's just wide.
Corner, got a cross in.
A beam right at Mosquera.
And here comes Panama
the other way.
It's the middle for Fariña,
and he'll let it go.
Horvath tested
for the first time tonight.
Back door for Murillo.
Murillo lobs it up in the air.
Robinson gotta be careful.
It's knocked away by Ayarza.
Hooks it back
in the middle and did.
Panama score!
The pressure finally
breaks through!
[cheering]
McKennie wins it
over Carrasquilla.
Starts in his first touch.
Put it behind Scally.
Draws contact. Free kick, U.S.
Carrasquilla is chopped down.
Pulisic, and he's sent off.
Now Pulisic came in
with the body on--
- Pulisic needs to be
careful too.
[crowd groaning]
[whistle trills]
- That should be it.
The hope coming
in to the night was
the U.S. could win
and not even
have to worry about Monday's
game against Uruguay.
They are now
gonna have to beat
the 15-time Copa América
champions
at Arrowhead Stadium
Monday night.
♪
- Listen, you fuck about.
You've learned.
We knew the referee
was gonna be shit.
He ended up being shit, right?
So you knew
you gotta be smarter.
Gotta be smarter.
Because, you know, he put
the team in a tough spot.
But what I like is,
we didn't break.
We kept going. We kept going.
You kept your head up.
You kept working
and fighting together.
Listen, we're gonna need
the same thing
in four days' time against
Uruguay when we win,
and we get into the next round.
That's how it goes.
We're gonna do it?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Sure.
[soft dramatic music]
♪
- Did Tim Weah
say anything to the group
when you guys
all get in there?
- Yeah,
he apologized to the team.
And you never mean
to get a red card.
Under no circumstances.
He's not that type of person.
And we still created chances
after going down to 10 men,
so it shows our quality.
So again, all to play for
in the last game.
- If the U.S. fails
to get out of this group,
there's gonna be
a conversation
amongst the leadership
of U.S. Soccer
about whether Gregg Berhalter
is the right person
to lead the team forward.
I don't think
you can avoid that.
The reality is, if the U.S.
loses to Uruguay on Monday,
it could mean the end
of the Gregg Berhalter era
for U.S. Soccer.
- I mean, Panama
came into this game
knowing they were
gonna be physical.
- Copa América, we know it's
an aggressive tournament.
- Keep an eye on
the right side of the screen.
- He was just
being aggressive, honestly.
And I have nothing
against that.
- Right there.
- Can't do that.
Can't do that.
- So I just dish it back,
and he kind of sold it a lot
better than I did, obviously.
♪
To be suspended
these two games
and not get to help my team,
I think that hurts the most.
- Did you have a good time?
Remember this? Yeah?
Can you take a deep breath?
- [groans]
- What's that? Is that Mom?
Can I hug you?
Wanna go?
We're heading
to Easton's makeshift
second birthday party.
We'll see--
we'll see how it goes.
See what Ashley
drummed up for this.
Yeah, go ahead.
Yeah, limited time.
This is just in between
treatment cycles,
trying to get this leg right
so I can play on Monday night.
So I got 45 minutes.
And so we're trying
to make things happen.
- Easton!
- It's Mommy.
- Happy birthday!
Look at--
- Sandwich.
Can I wear a hat?
Look, we're just
gonna wait, okay?
We have to sing first.
One
- Are you ready?
- Two
- Are you ready?
- Sing.
both: Happy birthday ♪
- Meeting Ashley
was huge for me.
We fell in love so fast.
She challenged me
in ways that made me
realize the man
I wanted to become,
which was a father, a husband.
She got me good.
- He's well beyond his years.
He would watch
"Wheel of Fortune"
and "Jeopardy!" every night.
And I feel like
he's like a 70-year-old.
But I love it.
Every aspect of it.
- She allowed me to be
more relaxed on the field
and work harder
at training and eat better
and do all the little things.
And in 2021,
I did a lot of winning
with the national team.
We won the Gold Cup.
At the end of Gold Cup
is when we found out
that Ash was pregnant.
- The baby
was a Gold Cup baby.
We were so excited.
Matt was traveling a lot,
and I realized
something wasn't right.
And I went straight
to the hospital.
So the doctors were like,
the pregnancy
is somewhere outside
of your uterus,
and it's not going to survive.
And I just sat there and cried.
And Matt's
on the phone far away,
and Matt felt so helpless.
There's nothing he can do.
[somber music]
And there's nothing
I could do about it.
- My plan was to go
straight to Gregg
and tell him that
I needed to go home.
But as soon as
I get off the elevator
in the hotel in Nashville,
I run into Gregg.
And Gregg says, hey, Matty,
you're gonna start
our first World Cup qualifier
in El Salvador.
You're ready, baby.
Oh, like, how am I gonna--
how am I gonna tell her this?
I call her, and she goes,
you have to stay.
- There was no doubt
in my mind that I wanted him
to be exactly where he was.
We've been working so much
together on getting him there.
And I needed him
to keep playing
'Cause I needed us
to keep moving forward
like we always do.
I don't know how he did it,
but he was able
to get on that field.
And he didn't talk to anybody
about it either, really.
Men don't often talk
about miscarriages.
And then to have
to perform at that level
and still emotionally go
through something like that,
that's not easy.
- Into the penalty spot,
and there's Turner.
- Losing a child,
going through
all those tough times
and those dips and emotions.
And fast forward,
we find out that Ashley
actually is pregnant again
with now our son Easton.
[all cheering]
- Can you clap, Easton?
Can you go, yay?
- So it did have
our little rainbow baby.
It did have a happy ending.
- I've never seen him
fall so in love
with something.
That's so good, Easton.
I don't think
he was ready for that.
[indistinct chatter]
- [babbles]
- Really?
- Whoa!
- Watching him become
the father he is,
that will make me
cry instantly.
[laughs] Yeah.
Easton's a very lucky kid.
He has the best dad in the
world, and it's very special.
- We have two kids now.
To be able to share something
so unique with my son,
with my daughter,
that feeling drives me.
I gotta run, babe.
- That's it.
Oh!
[laughs]
With the video, baby.
Let's go!
That's Big Poppa right there.
Put it on me.
10 plus 10.
- Yeah, the last game
was one of those ones
that, like, it was
really difficult for me
because obviously I had
to come off at half time,
and I just never had
to do that before.
You know, it was hard to watch
my teammates suffer
the way that they did
with ten men.
Obviously, getting a red card
early in the first half,
it's never ideal.
But we did so many great
things in the game.
And to come away with nothing
was heartbreaking.
But I think also, you know,
given everything that happened,
when we go out onto that field,
we have to have a different
mentality about ourselves.
[dramatic music]
- All right, boys.
We talk all this time about
wanting to beat the elite
of international soccer.
This is our fucking
opportunity, boys,
right here in front of us.
Our knockout game
came five days early.
Tim is a key player
for the team.
You know, we're gonna
miss him for sure
in this game against Uruguay.
So what we opted to do is
put another
industrious midfield in there
with Yunus.
Yunus.
- Yeah?
- You ready
to play in this game?
- Yeah, I'd love
to play this game.
- Yeah?
- Yes.
- Where are you gonna
play this game?
For Gio as a winger.
We're gonna start you
on the right side.
- Okay.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- West will be on the left.
You'll be on the right.
- Okay.
- And then Balo up top.
But be prepared to do your job.
- It's not like
we haven't been
in this situation before.
- Boys, last move.
Start with
- In Qatar, going into
our last game needing a win,
would be the toughest game
of the group,
but one I'm confident in.
- Yeah, I've never been more
ready and confident
in my life, to be honest.
♪
- We talked this morning
about this being our moment,
right?
But there's a catch
to this whole thing.
It's not gonna be given to us.
We're gonna have
to go out and take it.
And the only way to get it
is by giving fucking
every single thing you have.
Leave it all
on the table, boys.
And if we do that,
we'll be on a flight tomorrow
to the West Coast
to play in the quarterfinals.
On three, USA.
One, two, three.
all:
USA!
[cheering]
♪
- We are underway.
[tense music]
♪
Antonee Robinson
fighting through De la Cruz.
Adams gets through a tackle.
Options on his side.
That's Gio Reyna--
on the deck for Balogun,
but Rochet snares.
[whistle trills]
Adams, that's a hard hit.
- Oliveira catches Adams
on the ankle.
Yeah, Tyler Adams
is gonna pick up
a yellow card for that.
He's kind of bewildered.
- For De la Cruz.
Back into the middle.
Richards.
Might have been
a handball there.
It looked like the referee
was thinking about calling it.
And right as it
looked like Pulisic--
[overlapping speech]
To run, now he calls it.
- There's a clear
advantage there with Pulisic.
My gosh.
Just don't get in the way.
- And Ream
coming in from behind.
Richards, the big tackle.
Didn't get there in time.
Yellow card, Chris Rich--
well, now are
we gonna keep playing on.
We come the other way.
Rochet clears it away.
But if the referee is
showing a yellow card--
- He's showing a yellow card
and allowing him to play on.
That's ridiculous.
- He cannot give advantage.
[indistinct chatter]
- Okay, good half.
Good half, boys. Reset, reset.
[overlapping speech]
- Okay boys, couple of things
to think about here.
We still just need one.
So don't panic.
We're--right? We have time.
Okay?
Second thing is,
the referee is what it is.
We'll be arguing.
We'll be yelling
and just play your game.
Play your game. Right?
We're your biggest advocates
on the sideline.
Think about your individual
duels now, guys.
Take it to the next gear.
Let's go.
- Valverde resets
for De la Cruz.
He hooks it in
and takes a flick!
And it's just wide.
Turner was scrambling there.
- Uruguay
don't need to win this game.
They just need a tie, and they
top the group, job done.
So I'm interested to see how
they handle this second half.
- Nández. Good area.
Just beyond the run there of--
Antonee Robinson
in the middle of the field.
Pepi doesn't get there.
[whistle trills]
Reyna commits the foul.
[whistle trills]
Free kick for Uruguay
after Reyna foul.
De la Cruz sends it in!
Turner the save!
[suspenseful music]
- Let's see again.
Oh, yeah.
You're--when this
header comes off,
I think Oliveira is offside.
So this is being checked.
- This would be called back.
- Yeah, we're
getting it here, Dr. Joe.
There's the first header
from Araújo,
and you can see
Oliveira is offside.
There's two offside, in fact,
and it goes to him.
This is going to be offside,
and the U.S.
get away with one.
[whistle trills]
Wow!
- A goal has been given.
[ominous music]
Oh, my goodness.
- [indistinct]
McKennie into the middle.
Pepi out for Pulisic!
And clocked!
Cleared off the line.
And we're gonna
have to stop it.
Reyna. Pulisic. Reyna.
Haji Wright--
and that took him wide
Flying through and poked away.
Pepi picks it up.
Here's Christian Pulisic.
Oh, and the last one before
he was gonna shoot
♪
[whistle trills]
That's it. That's the end.
The United States is done
at the Copa América.
[indistinct chatter]
- [whistles]
- Good job.
Good job.
- The sobering reality is,
the U.S. is out--
and out with a whimper.
- I think you can summarize it
in one word--failure.
This is supposed to be
the warm-up for the World Cup.
This is supposed to be
sort of the appetizer, huh?
The primer for the World Cup
that is gonna get
the blood flowing.
And this is what you deliver?
- They are
the first host nation
not to get out of the group
in a Copa América,
this golden generation.
And I'm getting sick
and tired of saying--
- Get over this
whole idea of this--
- Golden generation,
which, by the way,
isn't that golden
anymore, either.
- Obviously, really
disappointing tournament.
- It's a pretty bad feeling
not getting out the group.
- Why it hurts so much is,
we know it was
a big tournament.
We know how much it meant
to us, and it sucks.
- It'll sit with us
a lot during the summer
in our breaks, and we'll
be thinking about it.
- Little bit of
a learning curve still,
and we're trying to measure
ourselves against
the biggest teams in the world.
- Yeah, I'm not exactly sure
what's missing, but, yeah.
- There's obviously a lot
of noise, a lot of heat
around the coaching staff.
Do you guys still have faith
in Gregg and the staff
to push you guys forward?
And was there any discussion
with them knowing
that the situation is
what it is for Gregg
at this point in time?
- I'm not sure I
understand what you mean
about the last
part of the question.
- I mean,
we have all the faith.
It's not just on them.
It's on us as players as well.
- Yeah, I think--
- Yeah, of course.
I mean, listen,
every single game we are in,
we had opportunities to win.
- Whatever--whatever the next
step looks like, you know,
it's not my job to decide.
[crowd chanting]
- What happens now
with our head coach--
- Gregg Berhalter
should be replaced.
- I can't
believe in the coach
that he's the one that's
gonna take it forward.
- We want somebody else.
- The decision
is not up to you as to
whether you continue, but do
you believe that you still
are the right voice, the right
person with this group
to push it forward ahead
of the '26 World Cup
and into the '26 World Cup?
- Yes.
- We have massive
breaking news here
on Scoreline for the
U.S. Men's National Team.
- It felt like
this was coming.
This was inevitable.
- U.S. Soccer has reportedly
fired Men's National
head coach Gregg Berhalter,
according to Fox Sports.
- It didn't take an expert to
go and look at this situation
and say, okay, I think
it's time for a change.
- Now, you still got this big
question mark, because
- There's no room
for error right now.
- We are running out of time.
- I think is
critically important
for this federation
and for this national team
is that they get
this new decision correct.
[ominous music]
♪
- See, I remember being
completely devastated
by how Copa América ended
because it was like,
now--there's always
been talk about us
not having a signature win.
There was talk about us not
doing well in big tournaments.
There was talk about how
this young team could do it
on a more international level.
And, honestly,
we kind of shit the bed.
- We failed ourselves,
and we failed him.
It's all--whenever a manager
is relieved of his duties,
you know, that falls
on the players as well.
- It was sad to lose Gregg.
I mean, he was a great person.
You know, you'd run through
a wall for that guy.
I mean, I've cried with him,
and I've cried to him
and taught me a lot
of lessons as well.
- It was a tough pill
to swallow and
ultimately changed the course
of this cycle.
- In reality, we wanted Copa
to be a big test for us
to measure ourselves
for how we're
gonna do in the World Cup.
But unfortunately,
we fell way short of our own
and everybody else's
expectations,
and it was a big reality check.
But this next World Cup,
it's all about
trying to take it
all the way and winning it.
- We are two years away
from the biggest
sporting event in history.
- We have some breaking news
in the hunt for
- As we have breaking news.
- This is absolutely
blockbuster news.
- With the national team,
there's a new dynamic.
Or if anybody says, yeah,
I'm a lock, I'm a guarantee,
they'd be lying to you.
- Sam, what happened to, uh,
half my team just dropping out?
[indistinct chatter]
- As a player, you realize
that your time comes and goes.
[dramatic music]
And it's the same thing
as a coach.
Your time comes, and it goes.
♪
[bright tone]
[TV static drones]
[bright tone]
[pensive music]
♪
- On the flight home
from Qatar,
I mean, we were pretty
happy with our performance
in the World Cup.
And it kind of felt
like everything was
headed in the right direction.
- When I was leaving Qatar,
I felt like
if this team could
take the next step,
if certain players
in the group
could advance their game,
the things that everyone
was talking about,
the golden generation,
the possibilities
at a home World Cup,
maybe they were true.
Maybe this team could
make a special run.
- But we get home,
and there was some controversy
that kind of started to swirl
around the team and the group.
And I think we all know what--
what came after that.
- U.S. Men's soccer
head coach Gregg Berhalter
- In the wake
of the World Cup,
a controversy erupted
between the Reyna family
and the Berhalter family,
one that would
call into question
Gregg Berhalter's path back
to being
the national team coach.
- But also his contract
was expiring.
There were many
differing opinions
outside of our team
in U.S. soccer
that were voiced
pretty heavily.
- I don't think
that the U.S. should,
or any national team,
should have a World Cup coach
for more than one
World Cup cycle.
The players just need
to hear a different voice.
- Gregg was a bit
in the hot seat.
- Because obviously, Berhalter
has said he wants to continue.
And he wants to go forward.
But can he? Should he?
- It was a lot of ups
and downs and twists and turns.
- Director Earnie Stewart
said that
Gregg Berhalter
still under consideration
for the national team manager.
- Then he was rehired
for the head coaching job.
- What did Gregg Berhalter do
that makes you believe
that there is
yet another step to be taken?
- I guess it's the safe route?
- There was a lot
of talk from the outside.
- Is Gregg Berhalter a good
coach for this national team?
- We're gonna have
to come back to in six months
and see where we're at.
- But we had
some good results.
Nations League titles,
we got two of those.
- Chris Richards!
[exciting music]
2♪
- And headed away.
Reyna!
- And before Copa,
we definitely
had some inconsistent results.
- Nice follow-through.
And then the overhead kick
is absolutely spectacular!
♪
- That, I guess, made a lot
of the outside world question
whether we had
the right players,
whether we had
the right system,
whether we had
the right coach.
- We thought we were ready.
- We going for it ♪
We going for it ♪
Jumping off the block ♪
Baby, I was born for it ♪
No need to tally up ♪
We keep on scoring,
scoring ♪
I already been
in that mode ♪
Just pushing ♪
Yeah, I'm just
pushing through it ♪
All eyes on me ♪
And they hate
to see me do it ♪
I can't drive on ♪
That's no longer
on me the choices ♪
Only choice is just
to say my name in vain ♪
You cannot tell me they're
feeling the same thing ♪
Us against the world ♪
It's really us against ♪
Against the world ♪
- Copa América is
the oldest tournament
in international football.
And it is the most important
trophy in South America.
The U.S. doesn't typically
get to participate
in the Copa América.
They were a guest team and,
this time around, the host.
There were
enormous expectations
around the U.S. team
to compete in this tournament.
- We were all feeling
the pressure from the outside,
and Copa América was
kind of our chance to be like,
all right,
this is how we shut up people.
This is how we do it,
this on-the-field stuff.
Because that's all
we can control.
- The most important
building block
between the World Cup in 2022
and the World Cup in 2026.
- Copa was a chance
and an opportunity
for us to show that
we were progressing,
that we were we were moving
in the right direction,
and that Gregg was
the right person
to lead us into the next phase
and throughout the cycle.
- And then, yeah,
what happened happened.
[dramatic music]
[distorted speech]
♪
[indistinct chatter]
[applause]
- Hey, welcome.
The front row.
That's supposed to go there.
- Thanks, Mary.
Before the Q&A,
I'll just start off
and give a little
background to what
we have going on this summer.
We're really looking
at this Copa América
as continuing
the building blocks
from World Cup 2022
to Copa América
to World Cup 2026.
18 of the players
on the 26-person roster
were at the 2022 World Cup.
So let's talk
about the new players.
Chris Richards,
he would have been on 2022.
Miles Robinson,
would have been on--
Malik Tillman is the guy
that was right there.
Ricardo Pepi
was right there also.
So we're talking about
a more talented player pool
than we had in 2022.
So we're excited
about that group
and what this team can do
at the international level.
Our group is gonna be
Bolivia, Panama, and Uruguay.
Uruguay is a top team.
So that's gonna be
a big challenge
that we're dealing with.
[applause]
- I mean, these are
powerhouse countries.
These are World Cup winners,
teams like Argentina,
Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay,
teams that they
don't normally come across
in a tournament play.
- The last time
the United States played
in the Copa América was 2016.
They advanced
to the semifinals,
where they lost
to Messi and Argentina,
one of the best teams
in the world.
So with this golden generation
and more players
playing at top clubs
in Europe than ever before,
the expectation around this
team was higher than ever.
- When I was, like,
five or six,
we ended up moving
to Germany 'cause my dad
was in the military.
- Yeah, I still remember
whenever I first got there
and we were unpacking the car.
We lived next to, like,
an elementary school.
And there was, like,
kids over there playing,
and I walked over,
and I saw them, like,
kicking this big ball,
which was a soccer ball.
And I'm like,
I'm referencing it to, like,
the bowling ball or something.
Like, oh, my God, that must
hurt their feet so bad.
[indistinct chatter]
It was when I just
started playing soccer,
and I just picked it up.
My mom took me out of school,
and we drove
to the American base.
And it was the national team.
At that time, I didn't
even know existed.
You know, it was Beas,
it was Landon Donovan,
Carlos Bocanegra, and Gregg.
After that moment,
my ultimate goal,
when I moved from Germany
back to America
was to play
for the national team.
- McKennie cutting back.
Weston McKennie on his debut!
Is that a moment we're gonna
be looking back on
in the years to come
as the start of something
special for Weston McKennie?
- And then find a way
to get back to Europe.
[indistinct chatter]
Juventus as a club,
it's one of the most
storied clubs in football.
Like, for me to be able to,
like, come here and play,
it's something special.
[speaking Italian]
- I remember
when he called me to tell me.
He was like,
guess what team called me.
I said, who?
He said, Mommy,
I'll never, ever guess,
and you'll never believe.
I'm like, who?
He said, Cristiano Ronaldo.
I'm like, what?
He said, yes, Juventus.
What?
I was so happy.
They could have
gotten any player.
But they found mine.
You know?
My kid, they found him.
- Me and my family,
we sacrificed so much.
And now I'm playing
the sport that I love.
- From little to,
like, academy to now,
it's, like, whoa.
That makes me emotional
because I'm--
I'm like, he did it.
Like, we did it. He did it.
[tender music]
And all his hard work
and now he can
show his craft to the world.
♪
It's amazing.
- You have
the ball at your feet,
and you can kind of
just create something.
It's like an artist
trying to paint.
Like, you can create
something with the ball
that people are drawn to
or that connect with people.
Whenever you think of America,
you think of American football.
You think of basketball.
You think of baseball.
You think of hockey,
maybe even before
you think about soccer.
And I think now things
are changing in a way
where people are like,
okay, well,
Americans can also play soccer.
- You know, back
in the day, it was
only one, two guys
that were playing abroad
that were having success.
Whereas now, you turn on
the TV on any given day,
and there will
probably be an American
on the field on some team,
whether it's Germany,
England, Italy.
We're trying to take
over everywhere.
[dramatic music]
- For four Americans
to be playing
in such a massive game,
you know me, Tim Weah
at Juventus,
and Yunus and Christian
at AC Milan.
It's such a beautiful thing,
but a long overdue thing.
[exciting music]
- Nice. Nice!
Come on, Wes.
Yeah!
- We're in this moment,
and you're in that zone.
You don't really, like,
take a step back
to realize the magnitude of it.
If you would have told
11-year-old, 12-year-old me
playing "FIFA" at home
that you're gonna be
playing for that team
in that stadium,
I would have thought
you were crazy.
Like, me and Tim Weah
were just looking at videos.
The day before this game, I was
showing them old videos of him
when he had his afro,
his long hair.
And I'm, like,
pulling a prank like, yo
Tim, Tim, we're late.
[laughter]
- Come on, man.
- Just being able to grow up
with a national team, it's
something special, you know?
It makes it that much
easier to sacrifice
more on the field for them.
We ride together,
die together on the field,
for sure,
and in an everyday life.
[upbeat music]
When the coach
gives you one day, two days,
everyone's
booking stuff straight away.
It's bop, bop, bop, bop!
Monaco.
It's a 3 1/2-hour trip
from Turin.
This is like my second home,
my home away from home.
We gotta go to the casino.
We got dinner.
We did a little bit
of shopping.
I had a lot of people
that came out.
You know, it was my mom.
I could see Timmy tomorrow.
Christian came out as well.
- West?
West is doing
whatever West wanted.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
I feel like I just, like,
went up a new tax bracket,
like a--you know what I mean?
[laughter]
[cheering]
♪
- Hi.
[baby babbles]
- Loser gets up in the middle
of the night with him, right?
So you wanted Dad last night
at 1:00 a.m., not me.
- What's the problem, Jax?
Wanting some deep shit
right now.
- He's so laid back
for everything in life.
But when it comes
to competition, like,
he will compete with me
for drinking a glass of water
at the dinner table.
It is exhausting.
I know you keep trying
to look at my cards.
Uno, oh.
[laughs]
- Draw two. Draw two.
Draw two immediately.
- You're distracting me.
I'm not drawing two.
- Draw two immediately.
Sarah, you're not
playing by the rules.
- Fine. Fine.
- Draw two.
But I still get to go.
- You don't get to go.
- Yes, I do.
- Stop.
- No.
- Stop it. Sorry, Jax.
- I can't go. I can't go.
Can't go. I can't go.
I still can't go.
- Jackson, wow!
- What?
- I'm the champion, Jax.
Sorry, buddy.
I'm gonna have
to sweep tonight.
- And now that he's been
injured for this year,
it's been even heightened.
It's--I deserve an award after
this of how long I've stayed.
It's been a long year
for me too, you know?
Don't put that in,
but it really has.
- Getting injured was
a tough time in my career.
You know, it's been
more than a year now
of not playing consistently.
[soft music]
But dealing with a lot of ups
and downs in my career,
that's all going
to the back burner for me
because I have
something more that
I work for every single day.
Fatherhood is
so important to me.
I didn't know what
it meant for so long
'cause I didn't have
a father growing up.
And then when my dad, Daryl,
came into my life,
I quickly realized why it's
so important to have a father.
- Having Jax
has brought me so much peace
because Tyler's career
is so crazy.
I mean, we move on the drop of
a dime to different countries.
He brought everything
we were missing, kind of,
from moving over here
and now has just
given us such a bigger purpose
and fulfillment
in everything we're doing.
He's gotten rid
of a lot of the anxiety
that comes with his career,
and now he can
just let that go
when he comes home
and just enjoys
every second with the baby.
- It was the first time
in a long time
that I had something to look
forward to consistently
outside of soccer.
[baby babbles]
And then I'm watching her
become a mother
is one of the most
beautiful things that's
ever happened in my life.
From the time I first started
playing professional soccer,
I remember all the dads
bringing out their kids after
games and, man,
I can't wait for that moment.
To fast forward ten years,
and I'm the person
that's bringing out my son
onto the field now.
♪
Having Sarah hold him
and being able to see them
and just wave to them
It's--it's so special.
[excited chatter]
Oh, my God.
You about to roll over?
Tell me you just
fucking recorded that.
Oh, my God!
- Did I just
miss him rolling over?
- He just rolled over.
- No!
No!
- Oh--
- No, Dad's lying.
He's lying.
- He has the footage.
There's a lot to process
when we're thinking
about this Copa América.
- What we do there,
especially being on home soil,
is gonna be big.
It's gonna be important.
- I think from
a team perspective,
we do look at this
as a mini World Cup.
I mean, how do you not?
- This is the first, like,
real test for us right now.
[dramatic music]
- It's an opportunity
to test ourselves
against opponents that
we don't ever get to play.
You know, when I look
at South America,
the technical ability
Along with the grit
and competitiveness,
is superior
to almost everywhere.
- This group has
been told for a long time now
that they're
a golden generation.
But if you want to be
the golden generation,
you have to be able
to go out on the field
and prove that you can go
further in a tournament
than any American team
has done before you.
And now you have a chance to
do it before the World Cup--
to build belief
in the country that you're
capable of what everyone
thinks you're capable of.
♪
[indistinct chatter]
[screams, laughter]
[indistinct chatter]
- Can I step on my left
first this time?
- [laughs]
Normally it's the right one.
- A really difficult aspect
of coaching the national
team is that
you have to be the best
of the best.
And it's a team that no one's
guaranteed a position.
Yet you wanna create
psychological safety.
You wanna create
this team environment
where everyone feels part
of something.
- Whew!
- Oh.
- Wait, roll it.
- On the wall.
- [laughs]
- When they come
into our environment,
we want them to know that
we care deeply for them,
and we wanna give them
every possible chance
to succeed at this level.
- Okay, I'll try to
- Yeah.
- Not hurt you.
- I'll be ready.
I'll be okay.
- Whoops.
- And the national team
is such a sanctuary.
- It's perfect.
- Good to just be around the
guys that know and love you.
[mellow upbeat music]
- Coming in here, it keeps
that drive alive for me.
These guys are
young 20-somethings
and they are like brothers.
And in some instances,
they are like kids.
They are like my kids.
The crap you guys talk about,
it's stuff my ten-year-old
talks about.
So it's like
I've never left home.
- Three minutes, boys.
We start in three minutes.
[excited chatter]
- I always
relate it as going
to an away tournament
as a young kid,
where you finally get
to bunk with your friends.
You know you're there to do
a job, and you all wanna win,
but you're relaxed
because it's your friends.
Yeah, it's good fun, man.
- Tyler!
Go easy like-a spaghetti
with the meat-a-ball.
- When you create that
type of environment
where you really care
about the individual
and care about
the human being side of it,
you get good results.
- Fucking Vinnie, man.
[laughs] Let's go.
- Let's just focus today
on sliding back and forth.
- We love Gregg.
We're all a bunch
of young kids just
eager to win, eager to play,
and he's done
such a great job.
- He is still
a pretty young guy,
you know, and he
relates really well
to the majority of the group,
and I think that
that's super special.
- Gregg, you know
where we're from.
[laughs]
- Is that the Pulisic model?
- Dude, when are they gonna get
the McKennie, seriously?
- The most special part
of taking a team two cycles
is to see
the individual growth.
That's been the most
gratifying thing to me
is to see these guys grow up
and how much they've
bonded with each other,
and in the end,
how good of people they are.
- Every time you step into camp
again, it's like being home.
[indistinct chatter]
♪
[indistinct chatter]
[cheering]
- Come on!
[indistinct chatter]
- Come on!
[chatter, laughter]
♪
- You're gonna tap in
this Copa?
You're gonna be dialed in?
- I hope.
- We didn't do
all that buttering up
in fucking Orlando
to have you not score.
God damn.
Buttering up.
[laughs] Yeah, taking him--
take him to dinner.
- Folarin Balogun
is head and shoulders
above any striker we have.
Incredible. Not even close.
[announcer speaking language]
- Here you got a guy
who was born in New York
but was raised in England
scoring a ton of goals
over in France,
and he's got a chance to commit
to this U.S. Men's
National
at a striker position that
they desperately need.
[dramatic music]
To be eligible for the
U.S. Men's National Team,
it's pretty simple.
You need to be eligible
for a U.S. passport.
And because of that,
things got
a little bit over the top
with his recruitment.
- As Americans, we are
seeing what you are doing,
and we love it.
- You are the missing piece
to this puzzle for us to have.
- We're in Monte Carlo,
where I call home.
Yeah, beautiful place,
you know?
My journey to team's
a little bit unique.
My mom always told me
the story growing up,
but I never really
paid it any mind.
She came to the U.S.
to visit her sister,
and she had her return ticket.
But then they said that
she was too pregnant.
[soft music]
So I was born in New York
but grew up in London.
Choosing to represent
the Men's National
was something I thought
about for a long time,
because the difference
between international football
compared to club football is,
you can transfer clubs.
But once you choose who you
represent internationally,
that's you,
and, like, it's fixed.
You can't change it.
We met with the coach
at the time.
He explained to me
how much he felt
I was a key piece
to the jigsaw.
And as a player,
that's the sort of stuff
that's gonna motivate you and
make you wanna run
through a brick wall,
not just for your manager,
not just for your teammates,
but for the nation itself.
In life, you get quiet signs
of, like,
the right choice to make,
and you're kind of guided
by something above.
And you have to listen to it.
The way I was eligible
to represent America,
and I was just kind of like,
I'm not gonna be the person to
stand in the way of this story.
I spoke to my agent,
and I said,
this is the jersey I wanna be
scoring goals in, and
now we're at a stage,
you know,
I'm gonna be competing
on the biggest stage
in the world for my country,
and I couldn't be prouder of--
I wanna make history.
- Yes, Balo!
- Going into the opening game
of the Copa América,
yeah, I feel like
I have a quiet pressure
that I bring about myself
wanting to give back
on the biggest stage.
This is the sort of game
where you can really
make a difference,
make an impact.
The boys share that
together we can
achieve something great.
- Gearing up.
One game at a time mentality.
Think about how we get
our performance
at the levels that we need.
Use this training to get us
there as a group collectively
that we get
on the field tomorrow,
we're ready to kick ass.
Come on, boys.
- All right, boys,
over to the sticks.
- The U.S. is getting
ready for their opener
against Bolivia here
in Copa América 2024.
- They're coming in
pressing teams a lot higher
and a lot more aggressive.
We worked on it
today in training,
and we'll have a really
good game plan for it.
- He doesn't need to come back
down on the immediate press.
- And he's forcing--
- U.S. right now second
favorite to win the group.
How far do you think
that this U.S. team
under Gregg Berhalter can get?
- Semifinal
is the expectation.
- If they don't do that,
you think it'll be a failure?
- Leading into summer of 2026,
the most important summer
in U.S. soccer history,
you need to believe that this
is a team worth following.
[dramatic music]
♪
- Think how much
this group has grown.
Think personally how much
you guys have grown.
Think how many experiences
we've shared,
all to get us to this moment
and these opportunities.
This is what we're
built for, guys.
Moments like this.
Opportunities like this.
♪
Warrior mindset.
We put everything
out there, right?
We come back
in this locker room
and we move on
to the next game.
It's about every duel,
every play, every pass.
We go all in.
- We are underway
here in Dallas.
The men of the
United States wearing white.
Bolivia, known as La Verde,
the Greens.
Tim Weah, early cross--
and he's cornered
with a flying karate kick.
- U.S. brought it, and now
they get the pass away.
- And Pulisic already,
you see him
trying to get the crowd going,
and they've responded.
- Short to Weah.
[cheering]
What a start
for the United States!
♪
- What a terrible tackle
that is.
My goodness.
- Yellow card shown.
- Steps in to win that back.
- Pulisic calling for it.
Able to turn on it.
Pulisic on the run.
Pulisic with options
either side.
Here's Balogun now.
Balogun on the deck,
and it's in!
[cheering]
Balogun scores,
and the U.S.
doubles their lead.
[cheering]
- Congrats on your
first Copa América win.
Well done.
- Congrats on the performance.
Felt like the game plan
was so effective.
How pleased were you?
- The biggest thing was,
there wasn't any doubt.
To get the early goal really
took a lot of pressure off.
- Tournaments are long.
This is just that first step
in the journey.
Atlanta tomorrow.
What do you wanna build on?
- It's always important
to win your first game.
The performance was good,
but it can improve.
But the most important thing
for us now is just Panama.
That's all it is.
We focus on Panama, and we
go and try to win that game.
- Congrats, thank you.
- Thank you.
- Daddy.
- Oh, I miss you too.
Look at this. Look.
This is where we've been
playing football, you see?
- Whoa! Look at that.
- It's really big, isn't it?
- It's very big.
- Yeah, does it look good?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, we've been
kicking a ball.
- Crazy.
- Are you playing football?
- We're playing football, yeah.
- Where's Daddy?
- In America.
- Yeah, I'm in America.
It's hard for Darcy.
She's back in England
and having to look
after two kids on her own.
That's the bit that makes
it the hardest for me is
leaving her to single parent.
I know just doing it with the
two-year-old is hard enough.
So doing it with two.
Yeah, she's--[laughs]
Yeah, she's a better woman
than I am a man.
She's built differently.
What plaster?
- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye. I love you.
- Bye!
- Mwah, mwah, mwah!
- [laughs]
- Atlas, can you do that?
[laughter]
- Bye, Dad.
- Bye-bye.
The message has been the
whole time that we wanna win,
making it worthwhile
that I've been away
for a long time and being
able to celebrate
with the people who I love most
when I get back.
We just need to make sure that
the things that we can control
are in our favor.
It's to play our game plan
and then get it done.
- Let's move on to Panama.
- This is their most
traditional way
of starting play.
- Are we saying
don't press the goalie?
- That's what
we talked about last night.
- Should we just get up there
and then just drop back?
- But I don't think--
- At one point we were
discussing dropping 40 yards,
and then the conversation
shifted to this like
- Strike these
long balls, right?
- They're good
at counterattacking
these kind of situations.
They kind of thrive in these
kind of flick moments.
Key players, Carrasquilla.
- And he smashed the ball,
by the way.
- It's winning
the ball or foul.
There's only two options.
It's a foul or win the ball.
- Here, you have backwards.
- It's much harder for--
[overlapping speech]
[upbeat music]
♪
- How do you
approach Panama specifically?
So those games have been,
for lack of a better word,
very chippy.
- We don't know which
Panama team we're gonna get.
We're just gonna make sure
that we come out 100%.
- All we're focused on,
boys, is our own performance.
All we're focused on is
improving from last game.
- Panama looked pretty good
in the second half,
but the first, like, 10, 15--
anyway, if you don't release,
and like when they play like
this, bro, you get fucked.
- They're extremely athletic,
technical as well,
and they can hurt you.
They're really fast up top.
- Tim, the ball's
gotta be faster.
- We're gonna have
to be on it physically
and mentally to win the game.
- That's the idea.
Early in the game,
get after 'em.
Put 'em under pressure.
- And if they
start grabbing you,
and they grab you
for long enough,
make sure that the referee
knows that they're fouling you.
- Lower, West! Lower now!
Yes! Yes!
[indistinct chatter]
And we go!
Once we get in their half,
just play soccer.
We'll do it one more time where
we get up into their half.
Keep your positioning.
Look to break 'em down.
Look to lock 'em in.
We got Iván Barton.
And I'm telling you right now,
it's a bad rap.
In soccer,
you have bad referees.
We know it coming
into the game.
That makes it even better.
We're armed for it.
Now, what do we do?
We stay calm.
We stay cool. We play our game.
- This team
is gonna be physical.
This team's going to be
well prepared.
So are we.
They don't wanna play
at a fast tempo.
We do.
When someone wants to go
toe to toe with us,
they better be prepared
that we're gonna throw
the first punch, right?
And we're gonna be
the first player to put
someone on their fucking ass.
- We put the game
on our terms today.
That means we play fast,
we play hard,
and we play together.
That's all we do.
We worry about our performance.
Then we go out
and we kick some ass.
One, two, three
all:
USA!
[dramatic music]
- It is not easy
to get anywhere
in the city of Atlanta.
About 55,000 tickets
were sold for this game,
and another
terrific atmosphere
as there was Sunday in Dallas.
And it lifts this U.S. team
on to the next round
in the last eight standing
in the Western Hemisphere.
We are underway!
It is the men of the
United States wearing white.
- They don't drive, then
you're gonna get in behind.
But it can open up space
for teammates.
You constantly need movement
against a very low block.
It should be a foul.
- Oh, he's tripped up
and goes down.
Into the middle!
It's Richards.
It's saved off the line.
The rebound's loose.
McKennie is there!
Less than five minutes in,
and another early goal
for the U.S.
to take the lead!
- But I'm interested
to see here,
it looked like Tim Ream
was in an offside position,
and he's the first one
that makes the contact
once it comes off.
- Well, John,
the referee's
not gonna go
to the monitor to check
a factual offside decision.
- Yeah, it's offside.
It was.
- By David,
just on the sideline.
Bárcenas picks it up now.
Up and running to the center.
The cross is meant for him,
and he cleans out Matt Turner.
Matt Turner's down hurt.
♪
All right, Jenny, that was
on your end of the field.
What are you seeing down there
right now for Matt Turner?
- Oh, I know you guys
were getting some of those
same visuals, but clearly,
it is that left leg.
It appeared to be
that left thigh.
Matt Turner was visibly
very uncomfortable,
very upset with
the officiating as well.
Now, keep in mind,
he has never beat Panama.
He lost in the Gold Cup
last summer to them.
And he said to me,
this match means so much
because he wants to get a win
against Panama.
He's back on his feet,
walking it off.
Let's see how he responds,
guys.
- I'm still also baffled
how that's not a yellow card.
He can't do anything there,
Matt Turner.
[cheering]
- Full hour played.
We've lost about six
minutes in total.
Now there's a coming
together off the ball.
Roderick Miller is down.
Tim Weah--
- It's almost like
we expected this
to start to boil over.
And that's where,
again, it becomes
important for yellow cards,
and this time Iván Barton
decides to give
Tim Weah a yellow card.
And he's trying to say
it was shoulder to shoulder.
I was focused on the ball,
so didn't necessarily see
how much the contact
was from Weah off the ball.
But this thing's
gonna start to boil up here
exactly as we expected.
♪
Yeah, it's red.
- There you go.
- He's taking away the yellow,
giving a red card.
- And the U.S.
will play with ten
for the entire
rest of the night.
So you've gone
in about 10 minutes here
from the U.S. thinking
they're up 1-0
and sailing, great position,
early goal,
to now at 0-0 be playing down
a man the rest of the way.
- Yeah.
- Balogun trying to return it.
Back to Balogun!
It's in!
Off the inside of the post!
What a goal
from Folarin Balogun!
Blackman. Robinson was there.
Didn't get it out cleanly.
It's a goal. Panama score.
- A lot to pack in
this first half.
- Here we go.
We're in for a fucking fight.
You guys ready?
- Yeah.
- Huh?
We were all expecting this.
Huh?
45-plus minutes left
in the game, boys.
We'll get one chance. Come on.
- We got this.
- We're making
a couple changes.
We're going to a 5-3-1.
5-3-1.
Tyler, you're gonna come out.
You're gonna come in, right?
This is how it's gonna be.
This is where
it gets fun, boys.
Come on.
We dig.
- Let's go, boys! USA!
Let's rip their hearts!
- Horvath will
be coming on for Matt Turner
to start the second half.
- It's a moment
of adversity for this team.
You're down a man.
Everything has started
great in the first game.
So let's see what
this team is made of.
How do you dig in?
How do you fight?
How do you get
yourself into the game?
How do you still find moments
to create chances?
[tense music]
♪
- Pulisic is tripped up
and goes down.
Balogun wants it.
Can he drop it in?
Oh, can he?
Balogun. Balogun.
Doesn't have much of an angle.
Doesn't need it!
Oh, it's just wide.
Corner, got a cross in.
A beam right at Mosquera.
And here comes Panama
the other way.
It's the middle for Fariña,
and he'll let it go.
Horvath tested
for the first time tonight.
Back door for Murillo.
Murillo lobs it up in the air.
Robinson gotta be careful.
It's knocked away by Ayarza.
Hooks it back
in the middle and did.
Panama score!
The pressure finally
breaks through!
[cheering]
McKennie wins it
over Carrasquilla.
Starts in his first touch.
Put it behind Scally.
Draws contact. Free kick, U.S.
Carrasquilla is chopped down.
Pulisic, and he's sent off.
Now Pulisic came in
with the body on--
- Pulisic needs to be
careful too.
[crowd groaning]
[whistle trills]
- That should be it.
The hope coming
in to the night was
the U.S. could win
and not even
have to worry about Monday's
game against Uruguay.
They are now
gonna have to beat
the 15-time Copa América
champions
at Arrowhead Stadium
Monday night.
♪
- Listen, you fuck about.
You've learned.
We knew the referee
was gonna be shit.
He ended up being shit, right?
So you knew
you gotta be smarter.
Gotta be smarter.
Because, you know, he put
the team in a tough spot.
But what I like is,
we didn't break.
We kept going. We kept going.
You kept your head up.
You kept working
and fighting together.
Listen, we're gonna need
the same thing
in four days' time against
Uruguay when we win,
and we get into the next round.
That's how it goes.
We're gonna do it?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Sure.
[soft dramatic music]
♪
- Did Tim Weah
say anything to the group
when you guys
all get in there?
- Yeah,
he apologized to the team.
And you never mean
to get a red card.
Under no circumstances.
He's not that type of person.
And we still created chances
after going down to 10 men,
so it shows our quality.
So again, all to play for
in the last game.
- If the U.S. fails
to get out of this group,
there's gonna be
a conversation
amongst the leadership
of U.S. Soccer
about whether Gregg Berhalter
is the right person
to lead the team forward.
I don't think
you can avoid that.
The reality is, if the U.S.
loses to Uruguay on Monday,
it could mean the end
of the Gregg Berhalter era
for U.S. Soccer.
- I mean, Panama
came into this game
knowing they were
gonna be physical.
- Copa América, we know it's
an aggressive tournament.
- Keep an eye on
the right side of the screen.
- He was just
being aggressive, honestly.
And I have nothing
against that.
- Right there.
- Can't do that.
Can't do that.
- So I just dish it back,
and he kind of sold it a lot
better than I did, obviously.
♪
To be suspended
these two games
and not get to help my team,
I think that hurts the most.
- Did you have a good time?
Remember this? Yeah?
Can you take a deep breath?
- [groans]
- What's that? Is that Mom?
Can I hug you?
Wanna go?
We're heading
to Easton's makeshift
second birthday party.
We'll see--
we'll see how it goes.
See what Ashley
drummed up for this.
Yeah, go ahead.
Yeah, limited time.
This is just in between
treatment cycles,
trying to get this leg right
so I can play on Monday night.
So I got 45 minutes.
And so we're trying
to make things happen.
- Easton!
- It's Mommy.
- Happy birthday!
Look at--
- Sandwich.
Can I wear a hat?
Look, we're just
gonna wait, okay?
We have to sing first.
One
- Are you ready?
- Two
- Are you ready?
- Sing.
both: Happy birthday ♪
- Meeting Ashley
was huge for me.
We fell in love so fast.
She challenged me
in ways that made me
realize the man
I wanted to become,
which was a father, a husband.
She got me good.
- He's well beyond his years.
He would watch
"Wheel of Fortune"
and "Jeopardy!" every night.
And I feel like
he's like a 70-year-old.
But I love it.
Every aspect of it.
- She allowed me to be
more relaxed on the field
and work harder
at training and eat better
and do all the little things.
And in 2021,
I did a lot of winning
with the national team.
We won the Gold Cup.
At the end of Gold Cup
is when we found out
that Ash was pregnant.
- The baby
was a Gold Cup baby.
We were so excited.
Matt was traveling a lot,
and I realized
something wasn't right.
And I went straight
to the hospital.
So the doctors were like,
the pregnancy
is somewhere outside
of your uterus,
and it's not going to survive.
And I just sat there and cried.
And Matt's
on the phone far away,
and Matt felt so helpless.
There's nothing he can do.
[somber music]
And there's nothing
I could do about it.
- My plan was to go
straight to Gregg
and tell him that
I needed to go home.
But as soon as
I get off the elevator
in the hotel in Nashville,
I run into Gregg.
And Gregg says, hey, Matty,
you're gonna start
our first World Cup qualifier
in El Salvador.
You're ready, baby.
Oh, like, how am I gonna--
how am I gonna tell her this?
I call her, and she goes,
you have to stay.
- There was no doubt
in my mind that I wanted him
to be exactly where he was.
We've been working so much
together on getting him there.
And I needed him
to keep playing
'Cause I needed us
to keep moving forward
like we always do.
I don't know how he did it,
but he was able
to get on that field.
And he didn't talk to anybody
about it either, really.
Men don't often talk
about miscarriages.
And then to have
to perform at that level
and still emotionally go
through something like that,
that's not easy.
- Into the penalty spot,
and there's Turner.
- Losing a child,
going through
all those tough times
and those dips and emotions.
And fast forward,
we find out that Ashley
actually is pregnant again
with now our son Easton.
[all cheering]
- Can you clap, Easton?
Can you go, yay?
- So it did have
our little rainbow baby.
It did have a happy ending.
- I've never seen him
fall so in love
with something.
That's so good, Easton.
I don't think
he was ready for that.
[indistinct chatter]
- [babbles]
- Really?
- Whoa!
- Watching him become
the father he is,
that will make me
cry instantly.
[laughs] Yeah.
Easton's a very lucky kid.
He has the best dad in the
world, and it's very special.
- We have two kids now.
To be able to share something
so unique with my son,
with my daughter,
that feeling drives me.
I gotta run, babe.
- That's it.
Oh!
[laughs]
With the video, baby.
Let's go!
That's Big Poppa right there.
Put it on me.
10 plus 10.
- Yeah, the last game
was one of those ones
that, like, it was
really difficult for me
because obviously I had
to come off at half time,
and I just never had
to do that before.
You know, it was hard to watch
my teammates suffer
the way that they did
with ten men.
Obviously, getting a red card
early in the first half,
it's never ideal.
But we did so many great
things in the game.
And to come away with nothing
was heartbreaking.
But I think also, you know,
given everything that happened,
when we go out onto that field,
we have to have a different
mentality about ourselves.
[dramatic music]
- All right, boys.
We talk all this time about
wanting to beat the elite
of international soccer.
This is our fucking
opportunity, boys,
right here in front of us.
Our knockout game
came five days early.
Tim is a key player
for the team.
You know, we're gonna
miss him for sure
in this game against Uruguay.
So what we opted to do is
put another
industrious midfield in there
with Yunus.
Yunus.
- Yeah?
- You ready
to play in this game?
- Yeah, I'd love
to play this game.
- Yeah?
- Yes.
- Where are you gonna
play this game?
For Gio as a winger.
We're gonna start you
on the right side.
- Okay.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- West will be on the left.
You'll be on the right.
- Okay.
- And then Balo up top.
But be prepared to do your job.
- It's not like
we haven't been
in this situation before.
- Boys, last move.
Start with
- In Qatar, going into
our last game needing a win,
would be the toughest game
of the group,
but one I'm confident in.
- Yeah, I've never been more
ready and confident
in my life, to be honest.
♪
- We talked this morning
about this being our moment,
right?
But there's a catch
to this whole thing.
It's not gonna be given to us.
We're gonna have
to go out and take it.
And the only way to get it
is by giving fucking
every single thing you have.
Leave it all
on the table, boys.
And if we do that,
we'll be on a flight tomorrow
to the West Coast
to play in the quarterfinals.
On three, USA.
One, two, three.
all:
USA!
[cheering]
♪
- We are underway.
[tense music]
♪
Antonee Robinson
fighting through De la Cruz.
Adams gets through a tackle.
Options on his side.
That's Gio Reyna--
on the deck for Balogun,
but Rochet snares.
[whistle trills]
Adams, that's a hard hit.
- Oliveira catches Adams
on the ankle.
Yeah, Tyler Adams
is gonna pick up
a yellow card for that.
He's kind of bewildered.
- For De la Cruz.
Back into the middle.
Richards.
Might have been
a handball there.
It looked like the referee
was thinking about calling it.
And right as it
looked like Pulisic--
[overlapping speech]
To run, now he calls it.
- There's a clear
advantage there with Pulisic.
My gosh.
Just don't get in the way.
- And Ream
coming in from behind.
Richards, the big tackle.
Didn't get there in time.
Yellow card, Chris Rich--
well, now are
we gonna keep playing on.
We come the other way.
Rochet clears it away.
But if the referee is
showing a yellow card--
- He's showing a yellow card
and allowing him to play on.
That's ridiculous.
- He cannot give advantage.
[indistinct chatter]
- Okay, good half.
Good half, boys. Reset, reset.
[overlapping speech]
- Okay boys, couple of things
to think about here.
We still just need one.
So don't panic.
We're--right? We have time.
Okay?
Second thing is,
the referee is what it is.
We'll be arguing.
We'll be yelling
and just play your game.
Play your game. Right?
We're your biggest advocates
on the sideline.
Think about your individual
duels now, guys.
Take it to the next gear.
Let's go.
- Valverde resets
for De la Cruz.
He hooks it in
and takes a flick!
And it's just wide.
Turner was scrambling there.
- Uruguay
don't need to win this game.
They just need a tie, and they
top the group, job done.
So I'm interested to see how
they handle this second half.
- Nández. Good area.
Just beyond the run there of--
Antonee Robinson
in the middle of the field.
Pepi doesn't get there.
[whistle trills]
Reyna commits the foul.
[whistle trills]
Free kick for Uruguay
after Reyna foul.
De la Cruz sends it in!
Turner the save!
[suspenseful music]
- Let's see again.
Oh, yeah.
You're--when this
header comes off,
I think Oliveira is offside.
So this is being checked.
- This would be called back.
- Yeah, we're
getting it here, Dr. Joe.
There's the first header
from Araújo,
and you can see
Oliveira is offside.
There's two offside, in fact,
and it goes to him.
This is going to be offside,
and the U.S.
get away with one.
[whistle trills]
Wow!
- A goal has been given.
[ominous music]
Oh, my goodness.
- [indistinct]
McKennie into the middle.
Pepi out for Pulisic!
And clocked!
Cleared off the line.
And we're gonna
have to stop it.
Reyna. Pulisic. Reyna.
Haji Wright--
and that took him wide
Flying through and poked away.
Pepi picks it up.
Here's Christian Pulisic.
Oh, and the last one before
he was gonna shoot
♪
[whistle trills]
That's it. That's the end.
The United States is done
at the Copa América.
[indistinct chatter]
- [whistles]
- Good job.
Good job.
- The sobering reality is,
the U.S. is out--
and out with a whimper.
- I think you can summarize it
in one word--failure.
This is supposed to be
the warm-up for the World Cup.
This is supposed to be
sort of the appetizer, huh?
The primer for the World Cup
that is gonna get
the blood flowing.
And this is what you deliver?
- They are
the first host nation
not to get out of the group
in a Copa América,
this golden generation.
And I'm getting sick
and tired of saying--
- Get over this
whole idea of this--
- Golden generation,
which, by the way,
isn't that golden
anymore, either.
- Obviously, really
disappointing tournament.
- It's a pretty bad feeling
not getting out the group.
- Why it hurts so much is,
we know it was
a big tournament.
We know how much it meant
to us, and it sucks.
- It'll sit with us
a lot during the summer
in our breaks, and we'll
be thinking about it.
- Little bit of
a learning curve still,
and we're trying to measure
ourselves against
the biggest teams in the world.
- Yeah, I'm not exactly sure
what's missing, but, yeah.
- There's obviously a lot
of noise, a lot of heat
around the coaching staff.
Do you guys still have faith
in Gregg and the staff
to push you guys forward?
And was there any discussion
with them knowing
that the situation is
what it is for Gregg
at this point in time?
- I'm not sure I
understand what you mean
about the last
part of the question.
- I mean,
we have all the faith.
It's not just on them.
It's on us as players as well.
- Yeah, I think--
- Yeah, of course.
I mean, listen,
every single game we are in,
we had opportunities to win.
- Whatever--whatever the next
step looks like, you know,
it's not my job to decide.
[crowd chanting]
- What happens now
with our head coach--
- Gregg Berhalter
should be replaced.
- I can't
believe in the coach
that he's the one that's
gonna take it forward.
- We want somebody else.
- The decision
is not up to you as to
whether you continue, but do
you believe that you still
are the right voice, the right
person with this group
to push it forward ahead
of the '26 World Cup
and into the '26 World Cup?
- Yes.
- We have massive
breaking news here
on Scoreline for the
U.S. Men's National Team.
- It felt like
this was coming.
This was inevitable.
- U.S. Soccer has reportedly
fired Men's National
head coach Gregg Berhalter,
according to Fox Sports.
- It didn't take an expert to
go and look at this situation
and say, okay, I think
it's time for a change.
- Now, you still got this big
question mark, because
- There's no room
for error right now.
- We are running out of time.
- I think is
critically important
for this federation
and for this national team
is that they get
this new decision correct.
[ominous music]
♪
- See, I remember being
completely devastated
by how Copa América ended
because it was like,
now--there's always
been talk about us
not having a signature win.
There was talk about us not
doing well in big tournaments.
There was talk about how
this young team could do it
on a more international level.
And, honestly,
we kind of shit the bed.
- We failed ourselves,
and we failed him.
It's all--whenever a manager
is relieved of his duties,
you know, that falls
on the players as well.
- It was sad to lose Gregg.
I mean, he was a great person.
You know, you'd run through
a wall for that guy.
I mean, I've cried with him,
and I've cried to him
and taught me a lot
of lessons as well.
- It was a tough pill
to swallow and
ultimately changed the course
of this cycle.
- In reality, we wanted Copa
to be a big test for us
to measure ourselves
for how we're
gonna do in the World Cup.
But unfortunately,
we fell way short of our own
and everybody else's
expectations,
and it was a big reality check.
But this next World Cup,
it's all about
trying to take it
all the way and winning it.
- We are two years away
from the biggest
sporting event in history.
- We have some breaking news
in the hunt for
- As we have breaking news.
- This is absolutely
blockbuster news.
- With the national team,
there's a new dynamic.
Or if anybody says, yeah,
I'm a lock, I'm a guarantee,
they'd be lying to you.
- Sam, what happened to, uh,
half my team just dropping out?
[indistinct chatter]
- As a player, you realize
that your time comes and goes.
[dramatic music]
And it's the same thing
as a coach.
Your time comes, and it goes.
♪
[bright tone]