USMNT lost to Panama - and it may cost Berhalter his job

In the 83rd minute of last night’s match, Panama scored the go ahead goal that would secure a surprising upset win against the US Men’s National Team.

Let’s be very clear - neither team should have been in the position they found themselves in as the clock ran out.

The turning point in the match was certainly Tim Weah’s red card for retaliating against Panama’s Roderick Miller in the 18th minute.

For the next hour of play after the red card, the USMNT had to play short handed. This allowed Panama to easily keep possession and have spacing throughout.

By the time a Panama player received a red card in the later stages of the match, the damage had been done.

The US did manage to score four minutes after the Weah red card, but almost immediately let Panama score the equalizer.

At half, Berhalter made several questionable changes including formation and substitutions.

The change of formation seemed an odd one, a choice that seemingly limited the offense but still allowed Panama to roam freely.

It also seemed ill advised when Folarin Balogun was subbed out shortly after half. He had scored the only US goal, and looked as if he had more left in the tank.

All of this could have been forgiven if the US had left Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a win or even a draw, but that wasn’t the case.

The USMNT found a way to squander a great opportunity to get out of the group stage of Copa America. Instead, they now find themselves in a truly precarious position.

The match on Monday against Uruguay has now become a must win. There is even a possibility that the US beats Uruguay and could still be eliminated by way of goal differential.

All of this was avoidable, but just like in years past, we may see this team eliminated far earlier than expected.

Many have called this group of players the golden generation of US soccer - yet we’ve seen so many underwhelming results from the team.

If the US loses or gets eliminated on Monday, it could very well be Berhalter’s last match with the team. Only time will tell.