THE UNITED STATES men's national team’s dismal Gold Cup campaign is now mercifully over after Jurgen Klinsmann's men fell to Panama on penalties in the third place game Saturday. While it was a game that neither team wanted to play, the fourth place finish was fitting for a U.S. squad that never played anywhere near its potential.

So now the U.S. will have to regroup. A pair of friendlies against Peru and Brazil are up next in September but in October things will get serious with a playoff match against either Jamaica or Mexico for a Confederations Cup berth.

If the Americans are going to succeed in those matches, they will first have to learn some lessons from the 2015 Gold Cup.

Klinsmann must reconsider “hierarchy”

Some pundits and U.S. Soccer insiders are downplaying the losses in this tournament as temporary setbacks. That's a mistake. Since the modern era of American soccer began with the 1990 World Cup there have been only two tournaments as disappointing as this: the World Cups of 1998 and 2006. In other words, this was probably the worst the U.S. team has ever played in a non-World Cup tournament in a quarter century.

Saturday's loss to Panama was a fitting end, with the visitors outshooting the United States 24-8 (13-2 on goal). Panama held an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks and Brad Guzan made 12 saves. Panama keeper Luis Mejia made just one.

Klinsmann had almost all of his top choice players available to him and yet the team struggled against Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, and twice against Panama. The only decent outing was against a Cuba squad that could barely field enough players for the game. So it wasn’t simply a loss. It was a failure to get out of the starting gate.

Klinsmann had 13 friendlies to prepare for this competition and during this time he often spoke of a personnel hierarchy. But some players constantly received starts no matter how poorly they were performing. In European environments nobody's spot is guaranteed; if players don’t perform, they’re benched.

In that regard, John Brooks is particularly interesting because he had a bad tournament overall and his game against Panama on Sunday was a nightmare. Beyond his poor play on Panama's goal, his sheer lack effort was shocking. If he’s still the first-choice central defender, what would it take for him to lose that role?

Similarly, Timothy Chandler is the starting right back despite a long string of shoddy performances. At times it looked like he didn't even care.

HT: Ream to the rescue. The defender's clearance has us scoreless at the break. #USAvPAN http://t.co/SM2BEjW0Ho

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 25, 2015

And it's not just Brooks or Chandler. With only a few exceptions, the entire team seemed stale. Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley faced similar issues in their second World Cup cycles—many core players had a drop-off following a successful World Cup but continued to be starters on the national team. To avoid those mistakes, Klinsmann needs to significantly revise his “hierarchy” and foster competition between both veterans and newcomers.

There needs to be a shakeup and it needs to begin with Klinsmann's roster decisions in September. 

Farewell DaMarcus 

The loss to Panama was likely DaMarcus Beasley’s national team farewell, and while it was an unfortunate way for him to bow out, all American soccer fans should take a moment to celebrate his international career. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native played in four World Cups and enjoyed success in just about every international tournament available to him.

But it wasn’t just the awards he earned. It was his timing. He and Landon Donovan came along at a time when soccer in the United States was starting to fade. The thrill of the 1994 World Cup and the inception of MLS in 1996 had faded and the embarrassment of the 1998 World Cup and the contraction of MLS teams in Florida threatened all progress. Beasley was part of a generation that reinvigorated soccer in the United States and took it to another level.

Klinsmann isn't going anywhere

After Saturday's game U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati insisted that Klinsmann’s job is safe no matter what happens in the October playoff for the Confederations Cup. That’s not a surprise as Klinsmann is a powerful figure as both head coach and technical director. Gulati believes in Klinsmann’s long-term vision for the national team program.

Klinsmann is a bit lucky that he is not in Europe because the calls for him to be fired would be intense in many of the top soccer countries.

That doesn’t mean he is free from pressure. As with any coach that has been at the helm for a long time, there is the risk that players will start tuning Klinsmann ou. The German must do everything in his power to ensure that doesn't happen.

For many Europeans, August is vacation time—a month to relax and unwind and think about anything other than work. For Klinsmann, August needs to be a time for soul-searching and re-evaluation as he retools the U.S. national team.

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.