Carli Lloyd rips into Gregg Berhalter after USMNT suffers Copa America heartbreak at the hands of Uruguay

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Carli Lloyd has accused Gregg Berhalter of being too soft on his players after the USMNT crashed out of Copa America at the first hurdle.

The United States failed to reach the knockout stages of the tournament on home soil following Monday's 1-0 defeat by Uruguay in Kansas City.

The result has piled pressure on Berhalter, with his future as head coach of the national team now in question. 

Berhalter conceded afterwards that the decision over his job is out of his hands but he is adamant that he remains the man to lead the USMNT towards a home World Cup in 2026.

Lloyd tasted World Cup glory twice during her 316-game career with the USWNT - in 2015 and 2019 - and she has accused Berhalter of letting his players become too comfortable. 

Carli Lloyd has questioned whether Gregg Berhalter is too soft on his USMNT players

'My concern is just how comfortable these players are with him,' the World Cup winner said

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'My concern is just how comfortable these players are with Berhalter. We won championships and we hated our coaches,' she told FOX Sports. 

'I'm not saying you have to hate your coach but I question how comfortable it is inside that locker room. Are they being pushed? Are they being held accountable? It doesn't look like that from the outside looking in.'

Berhalter was rehired only a year ago, having previously led the United States to the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup.  

With less than two years to go before soccer's showpiece arrives in the United States, the coach admitted he was 'totally disappointed' with the results of this dress rehearsal.

'We know that we're capable of more. And this one we didn't show it. It's really as simple as that,' he said. 

'You look at the stage that was set with the fans in this tournament, with a high level of competition in this tournament, we should have done better.'

Christian Pulisic failed to inspire the US to the win they needed to reach the knockout stages