Berhalter backs host USA to go even further in the 2026 World Cup

The Oranje were able to defeat USA 3-1 despite United States’ hearty second half performance but manager Berhalter chooses to see the positives in their World Cup performances, declaring that his side will go even further in the partially US-hosted 2026 World Cup.

Despite the result, it was Berhalter’s men that had the upper hand when it came to the possession (58.4%) or even shots on target (8) but

used their experience to their advantage and killed the game pretty early as Depay scored on the tenth minute.

When asked about his assessment about

’s World Cup, Berhalter said:

"Today it was small moments. We're a very difficult team to play, a team other countries don't want to play against because of our intensity and movement,"

.

"What I would say is, when you look at the difference, to me there was offensive quality that the Netherlands had that we're lacking a little bit.

"It's normal. We have a young group, players beginning their careers and we'll catch up to that, but we don't have a Memphis Depay right now, who plays at Barcelona and has played in the Champions League for years. Those are not excuses, that stuff is going to come.

"When you look at how we played, it should be positive. We should have confidence we can play against anyone in the world, the way we want to play, that's the important thing.

"Now it's about taking that to the next level, where you can win in knockout games and keep going. They did a great job and we definitely put our stamp on this World Cup.

"I think this group is close. To be fielding the youngest starting XIs in the World Cup four times in a row, to still play the way we are, the American public should be optimistic.

"We heard about the support we're getting from back home, it's something we really appreciate, we're sorry we couldn't win the game."

He was then asked about if he would helm the US in 2026, to which he replied:

"I've only been focused on the World Cup, achieving things with this group.

"In the next couple of weeks, I'll clear my head and think about what's next."

US captain, 

, was also of the same mind with Berhalter, as he told Fox Sports:

"I'm proud of the boys and we've shown we can hang with some of the best teams in the world. We've made progress and we will keep pushing.

"We're not there yet, but we're close. It's exciting, the more time we have together, the more growth there will be. But we need to mature for matches like this.

"It comes down to the moments and the more experienced side got the better of us today."

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