CHICAGO, Illinois – Following the 1-0 loss to Mexico in the Final of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup,
“Over the course of 90 minutes, Mexico was the better team,” said Berhalter.
“Having said that, we started the game really bright. I think what we lacked was some of the calmness, some of the composure. We knew it was going to be a big event, we knew it was going to be a semi-hostile crowd. And I think what I'd say is the confidence is what we lacked. Mexico certainly had it,” added Berhalter.
The U.S. coach added that a lack of patience led to some tired legs as the U.S. tried to find a goal.
“It became a very vertical game and it opened up a lot of space. We needed to avoid that by being able to keep the ball, move the ball side-to-side, get them moving more horizontally than vertically. We were rushing attacks in the second half, much too direct, and it cost us energy. We didn’t give up many good chances,” said Berhalter.
Overall though, for Berhalter, there were many positives to take from the team’s 2019 Gold Cup experience.
“I think the guys will learn a lot from this game, that's the first thing. There’s a lot of guys playing in their first game like this. For us, the whole month the focus was on that we need to make progress, and when I look back it at it and evaluate it, I think we did make progress. This experience will help us moving forward,” concluded Berhalter.
