A change has apparently occurred. According to Doug McIntyre of Fox Sports, Gregg Berhalter will not continue as United States Men’s National Team head coach.
The change comes after pressure from fans, media, and three of U.S. Soccer’s supporters groups publicly called for a change at head coach as well as a “comprehensive review” by U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker.
Gregg Berhalter coached 74 matches for the USMNT during his tenure, managing 44 wins, 17 losses, and 13 draws. However, outside of Concacaf, his record was 10W-7L-8D. The failure of the USMNT to survive the group stage at the 2024 Copa America prompted U.S. Soccer to put out a statement that said, “Our tournament performance fell short of our expectations. We must do better. We will be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance in Copa America and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup.” Ultimately, that review has led to Berhalter’s departure.
Berhalter was hired as USMNT head coach in December 2018, with the goals of bringing the team back to the World Cup after its disastrous failure to qualify in 2018. Despite struggling through qualifying, the team managed to clinch qualification on the final matchday to the 2022 World Cup. There, they finished second in a group that contained England, Wales, and Iran. They went on to lose to the Netherlands in the Round of 16.
After the World Cup, controversy surrounded Gregg Berhalter in a public spat that involved the family of USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna, which led to him being placed on paid administrative leave in January 2023 while an investigation was opened into domestic violence allegations against Berhalter while he was in college. The USMNT operated with interim coaches, first led by Anthony Hudson and then later by BJ Callaghan. After USMNT hired Matt Crocker as their sporting director in May 2023, Crocker announced the rehire of Gregg Berhalter in June 2023.
According to McIntyre’s report, a successor is unknown. However, U.S. Soccer is expected to have a new coach in place before the USMNT play their next match, a friendly against Canada on September 7th.
While Berhalter had a solid record against archrivals Mexico, fans had long soured on the team’s performance against other top teams. While the team had several draws against top 15 opponents, the USMNT only had two wins against top 20 opponents not named Mexico: Iran and Morocco, both in 2022. Fans were also upset with the process by which Berhalter was hired in 2018 and the similar process by which he was rehired in June 2023. With the exit from Copa América, fans felt that the team’s progress had stagnated and that a new direction was desperately needed. It seems like the federation has decided the same.
