United States coach Gregg Berhalter said their World Cup last-16 exit after a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday was difficult to accept but he took heart from the progress made by his young squad after their baptism of fire on the big stage.

“This is a tough one to swallow,” Berhalter told reporters. “The first half was a great indication of the game being about moments. We were on top for a lot of the first half and two moments come and all of a sudden we’re 2-0 down. The message was soccer can be cruel sometimes.

“It’s just moments that the players were (switched) off a little bit here and there and it ends up in the back of the net. When you play at this level, that’s what happens. It’s unfortunate that it happens in the knockout game, but it did and we’ve got to learn from it.”