US coach Berhalter: 'We got our butts kicked' by Japan

Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi will join the U.S. starting lineup for the Americans' last World Cup warmup against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night after coach Gregg Berhalter admitted “we got our butts kicked” by Japan last week.

The 14th-ranked U.S. failed to get a single shot on target in Friday's 2-0 defeat to No 24 Japan, a match Pulisic missed because of an unspecified injury.

“I think it was a poor performance from us. We got our butts kicked and we’re not proud of it," Berhalter said Monday in Murcia, Spain, ahead of the last exhibition. "We think we should have played much better, we could have played much better, and we didn’t. So we want to play better in this game. But I think it starts with the collective, us playing together more cohesive. And if we can do that, we’ll be fine.”

Berhalter plans to announce his 26-man World Cup roster on Nov. 9, 12 days before the Americans open in Qatar against No. 19 Wales. The U.S. plays fifth-ranked England on Black Friday and closes the first round against 22nd-ranked Iran on Nov. 29.