After the final whistle blew on the United States' 1-0 loss to Uruguay, head coach Gregg Berhalter went onto the field and shook the hand of each of his players, consoling those who had fallen to the ground in frustration with a quick word and moving on to the next.

The defeat meant the USMNT's run at the Copa América had come to a close. With it, the Berhalter era may end as well.

The 50-year-old returned for a second spell at the helm after the 2022 World Cup saw the U.S. eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16, but in his first major tournament back he was unable to get into the knockout phase of the Copa América on home soil.

Many fans are ready for Berhalter to move on after the disappointment, and U.S. Soccer announced after the match it will evaluate the tournament.

"Our tournament performance fell short of our expectations. We must do better," U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker said in a statement. "We will be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance in Copa America and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup."

Here, we look at why Berhalter came up short in the tournament and hasn't been able to take the U.S. to new heights overall during his tenure.

Lack of Finishing

The U.S. hasn't been able to finish during most of Berhalter's tenure, especially when it comes up against top teams.

That continued in the Copa América.

While Christian Pulisic fired the U.S. into an early lead in its opener against Bolivia and forward Folarin Balogun added a second, several American attackers missed opportunities to extend that lead.

The U.S. found one more goal over the next 180 minutes of soccer, with Balogun scoring a long-range beauty in the 2-1 loss to Panama.

Balogun exiting the first half of Monday night's match because of an injury certainly dented the United States' chances to go through, but this is a team that should have enough attacking depth to find the back of the net despite injury absences.

Yet, when the team was in front of goal, the shots just weren't good enough.

"I think that's probably where, on paper, you could say our strongest players are—not that we don't have good defenders—but when we find the momentum and click as a unit we can really be dangerous like certain games in the past," U.S. attacker Gio Reyna said. "I think the final pass and final details tonight weren't really clicking for us."

…And Chance Creation

Then again, it's not like the U.S. was providing its No. 9 with an abundance of opportunities.

There were chances to go ahead by more in the opening match against Bolivia. After that, there were few clear-cut moments when it looked like the Americans would score.

"Defensively, we're a really good team. Most games we have higher expected goals than the opponent," Berhalter said. "We create chances. We move the ball well. To me, the whole thing is you want to move the team forward, and I feel like we have."

The USMNT finished the match against Panama with six total shots and an expected goals number of 1.08. On Monday, it ended with .56 xG on three shots on target.

Perhaps most damning, in an elimination match in which a goal would've totally changed the complexion of not just the game but the whole tournament, the U.S. wrapped up with zero big chances missed - because it didn't create any.

Compare that to Uruguay's two despite a relatively defensive posture for much of the night, and it's clear not enough was generated going forward.

That's despite having attackers in the squad who often spark plays for their clubs and, at times, for the U.S. Yet, they found themselves neutralized by Uruguay's back line, or perhaps by what they were being asked to do within the attacking system on display.

Tactical Decisions That Went Wrong

After going down to 10 men against Panama and getting into the halftime break with the score level at 1-1, Berhalter went defensive, bringing on Cameron Carter-Vickers as a third center back and also going ahead with a planned change that put Johnny in midfield instead of Tyler Adams.

The U.S. felt it had the game controlled, but it saw Panama find a winner and had little to offer as a counter-punch with few attack-minded options remaining.

Getting the setup wrong was a knock on Berhalter at the World Cup as well, as he was outcoached by Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal in the round-of-16 defeat.

Berhalter isn't the first manager to lose a battle of wits with the Dutch tactician, but it was one of many gambles that haven't hit.

Even with those moves not paying off, several U.S. players said after the match they still had faith in the coach and his staff.

"We have all the faith. It's not just on (the coaching staff), it's on us as players as well," center back Tim Ream said. "There are things we, as players, can continue to improve upon, things we can do in games that will help us win games and things we can eliminate from our games that will help us be stronger and more solid as a group. We have confidence in each other. Right now, it's just a difficult moment not moving on."

The Referee(s)

We aren't big fans of complaining about the referees, but Berhalter may have a case if he blames some of the performances on officiating that was inconsistent at best.

In Monday's game, Uruguay's goal stood despite a strong case for it to be ruled offside. Still, it withstood the VAR review and stayed on the scoreboard.

There were other head-scratching moments from the referee as well, including calling back a U.S. counter-attack to award the team a free kick for a handball and missing a deflection on a late shot from Christian Pulisic that would have led to an American corner.

In the previous match, the U.S. wanted a harsher penalty for a collision on goalkeeper Matt Turner that was initiated by a Panama player.

Instead, moments later, Tim Weah was sent off after striking an opponent in frustration - a decision that Berhalter clearly didn't make but one that made him take some of the measures he felt necessary to manage that game, an eventual loss to the Central Americans.

"I saw things that I've never seen before right in front of my eyes today that truly I can't believe," Pulisic said after, while also noting the referee refused to shake his hand. "It's not why we lost. We're not out of this tournament because of officiating, but really I've seen things and I think everyone can admit ... I don't know what they're looking at, don't know what they're calling."

Defender Antonee Robinson was even more direct. "The referee clearly doesn't have a clue what he's doing, doesn't know how to control a game. This referee was awful."

Forgetting That Fight

U.S. fans of a certain age can remember the team going into contests with an underdog mentality and playing freely, facing teams like Spain without fear in the 2009 Confederations Cup, knocking Mexico out of the World Cup with a young Landon Donovan (along with center back Gregg Berhalter) in 2002 or even getting to the 1990 World Cup thanks to Paul Caligiuri's goal in Port of Spain to beat Trinidad and Tobago in 1989.

For many years, that was the hallmark of the national team. They might not be the most talented team, but they would fight and scrap for a result. They'd be David with a slingshot trying to take down Goliath.

Now, the team has the talent and prestige to match. Players are getting consistent minutes with UEFA Champions League clubs like AC Milan, Juventus and PSV Eindhoven, while others start in the Premier League or La Liga. But somewhere in that transition, it looks to have lost the fire.

In the end, that's what U.S. fans should want to see most: A team that represents them with heart, with a bit of daring and one that always feels like it can find a way to the next round.

U.S. Soccer's review may find differently, but in the hours after the early elimination from the Copa América, it's difficult to imagine Berhalter leading the way for the team.