When Gregg Berhalter took over as head coach of the U.S. men’s national team five years ago, the program was still trying to move on from one of the darkest moments in its history.
The 2017 loss to Trinidad and Tobago, which meant the U.S. missed the next year’s World Cup in Russia, was more than a wake-up call. It forces U.S. Soccer’s leadership to look in the mirror at every flaw. It highlights the failure of previous cycles to develop young talent. A year after that game, Berhalter was named the man to push the national team forward.
Now, after the Copa America group stage failed on home soil, the U.S. team’s plans must once again face failure.
This time, part of the evaluation is whether Berhalter is the right person to lead the program heading into the 2026 World Cup, which the United States co-hosts with neighbors Canada and Mexico.
If it were up to Berhalter, the answer would be simple: “Yes.” After Monday’s loss to Uruguay, his team were asked after their Copa America group stage if he thought he was still the right man for the job selection, the coach had only one sentence to say when asked. He also admitted that the decision was not up to him. U.S. Soccer leadership will evaluate Berhalter in the coming days.
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“Our performance did not meet our expectations. We must do better,” U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker wrote in a statement provided by U.S. Soccer 90 minutes after the Uruguay game ended. “We will conduct a comprehensive review of our Copa America performance and how best to improve the team and results as we look ahead to the 2026 World Cup.”
The United States lost to Panama and Uruguay in the group stage of the Copa America. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Berhalter’s task when he took office was not simple, nor was it one that progressed linearly.
His first U.S. team was a mix of old and new, trying to find a blend between experience and pure, unvarnished youth. His first call-ups to the Championship in the summer of 2019 included Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic, all of whom have yet to play The Gold Cup also features Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley, both of whom have played more than 100 games for their country. Berhalter next assembled a competitive roster for the 2021 National League. The team’s progress under his guidance is evident.
The roster was largely built around youth, with players including Sergino Dest (seven appearances for the team at that time), Anthony Robinson (10), Adams (12), McKennie (21) ), Yunus Musa, Brenden Aaronson (both 4 times), Pulisic (15 times)), Gio Reyna (also four times), Josh ·Josh Sargent (13th) and Tim Weah (10th).
The United States ended up winning that game, defeating Mexico for the first time in the process. It was the first of three consecutive National League titles as Berhalter continued to add new young faces to the program.
He led one of the youngest teams in international football to successfully qualify for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. While the path back to the World Cup wasn’t perfect — the U.S. finished third in CONCACAF qualifying — reaching the World Cup in Qatar closed the door on the program’s 2018 failure. Berhalter’s young side subsequently performed well at the World Cup, performing well in the group stages but losing to the Netherlands in the first knockout round.
Berhalter helps the United States return to the 2022 World Cup after failing to qualify in 2018 (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
The idea behind the whole process is to work towards hosting a home World Cup in 2026.
Berhalter did a great job in his first cycle with this team, but this past year felt more stagnant. U.S. Soccer leaders must now determine whether the coach responsible for the transition from 2018 to 2022 is the right person to continue working towards the 2026 championship.
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Crocker has already said “yes” to the issue once, when he and U.S. Soccer’s leadership team, including president Cindy Parlow Cone and CEO and secretary-general J.T. Batson JT Batson brought Burkhart back last summer. But the U.S. national team failed to withdraw from the America’s Cup group, triggering another referendum on the plan.
Viewed in isolation, it would be harsh to place all the blame for this failure on Berhalter and the coaching staff. Weah’s red card in the first half undoubtedly affected the Panama team’s results, thus changing the path to the knockout rounds. But the overall results over the past year show more stagnation than progress. Berhalter’s side still lack a signature win against a top opponent. In the past 12 months, the team has lost to Germany and Colombia, with the latter losing by an embarrassing score of 1-5. The draw with Brazil was a positive, but they were eliminated from the Copa America a few weeks later.
Failure to break away from the group is a huge missed opportunity on multiple levels, from the team’s growth to the potential impact on the development of soccer in the United States during the summer, which could attract new fans and set the stage for 2026. Base.
Berhalter is a process-oriented coach who adapts precisely to the details of his scheme. His tough work ethic is well known to anyone who has been with the team these five and a half years. For Berhalter, what happened at the Copa America was a setback.
“We know we’re capable of doing more, but in this game, we didn’t show it,” Berhalter said. “It’s really that simple.” But, as he has done throughout his tenure, Berhalter also viewed this as a moment to learn lessons and build.
“When you play in a football championship, there’s almost no difference between success and failure,” Berhalter said. “It’s just an action, it’s a decision from the referee and you can get in trouble. For us it’s going to have an impact every time we step on the pitch. I think we’re getting there but we’re not always there. There. This is where we can improve.
Players praised Berat for creating a strong bond with the team. (Photo by Michael Reeves/Getty Images)
Players in the mixed zone backed up Berhalter after Monday’s loss at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, having discussed some of the same ideas during their recent recruiting process. Their team culture owes a lot to Berhalter, but is still a strength of the team. There is trust between them, they say.
“I believe we’re all happy with Greg, we all understand him, we’ve had him for a long time,” McKennie said in the mixed zone. “He’s made the team a lot better than where we started. I think the connection we have with him is the most important thing, with a coach who breaks down brick walls for the players who listen to him. So. I think whatever happens happens, but I think if he was the coach we would all be happy.
Until now, U.S. Soccer has had to weigh whether that comfort was an advantage or a potential disadvantage.
Will the comfort level within the team under Berhalter hold them back from moving forward? Do red cards – particularly those to Weah and defender Dest in a Nations League game in Trinidad last November – indicate too much leeway? Is a team full of young players so used to the buzz surrounding their squad that the “golden generation” is becoming complacent?
The Copa America results, one win and two losses, and the past year should at least challenge the way this team is discussed.
Yes, the team is full of players who have played all over Europe, including some at the biggest clubs in the world. Yes, it is still the second-youngest team in this summer’s Copa America and European Cup, which are held simultaneously in Germany. But their roles within these clubs vary.
Few are asked to lead their own teams, and compared to the best international teams in the world, it could be argued that aside from Pulisic, Team USA still lacks a true star capable of turning games around at the highest level. The difference maker. That’s reflected in this team, both in Qatar and this summer, who have struggled to create enough goals.
This U.S. team has talent, but in the grand scheme of global soccer, it’s still an upstart trying to challenge the best. The team couldn’t believe it had arrived. Veteran centre-back Tim Ream seemed to hint at the idea in the mixed zone after the Uruguay game.
“It’s no secret that this is a really good team and very close, but sometimes the intensity gets overlooked,” Rem told Univision. “We have to keep our heads down and keep working, keep being humble and know we can keep improving every day, every practice, every game.
“If people have that mentality, then they can continue on an upward trajectory. When we start thinking we’re a finished product, then people stagnate and just stay at the level they’re at.
Of course, some of that responsibility should fall on the players. That was certainly a theme among the team after Monday’s loss. “I don’t think this game really had anything to do with the staff, the tactics or the way we played,” Reyna said. “I think it was more of a personal error.”
But some of that responsibility also falls on Berhalter and his staff.
If the leaders of U.S. Soccer believe this team must rise to the challenge of reaching the next level, then there are legitimate questions as to whether the culture within the current program is set up to do just that, and if so, Berha Whether Walter is the one.
“I don’t think so. I don’t think we’ve made enough progress since the World Cup,” U.S. national team legend Clint Dempsey was asked on Fox Monday night if Berhalter was still the one to lead the program. Said in the correct voice. “We’re not on the right track. … To me, that’s not good enough.
As for next steps, U.S. Soccer will consider many factors beyond on-field performance. The Football Association may be aware of the discussion surrounding Berhalter and the national team, with more and more fans focusing their attention on the coach. “Berkhardt out” has been a rallying cry on social media, omnipresent in any discussion or debate surrounding the team.
The big question, however, is who they would go to if they were to replace Berhalter.
There is no obvious candidate for the position.
Jesse Marsch, a finalist in the last recruiting cycle, only recently accepted the Canadian job. Notably, Canada advanced to the knockout rounds of the Copa America despite scoring just one goal in three group games. Some of the big-name candidates fans would like to see cost many times what U.S. Soccer is currently paying Berhalter, and that doesn’t even begin to consider whether those names want the job.
The decisions that U.S. Soccer makes in the coming days, and in the coming weeks if it chooses to move on from Berhalter, will have a huge impact on what happens when the World Cup returns to the United States in two years. A similar result in that game was disappointing and would dwarf the current defeat.
Given the stakes and expectations, Team USA’s job feels even bigger than the daunting task of climbing back from defeat in Trinidad nearly seven years ago.
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(Top photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
