USMNT 2023

[Napoleon 8710]

2 minutes ago, The_Great_Hornsby said:

And now you look like an asshole because there wasnt even a vote. Maybe wait for the facts to come out before you act like a self righteous dick. 

Do you need a warm wet cloth to clean yourself up after watching Gio highlights? Or can you use the same tissue that you’re crying into?

 

[The_Great_Hornsby 3352]

1 minute ago, Napoleon said:

Do you need a warm wet cloth to clean yourself up after watching Gio highlights? Or can you use the same tissue that you’re crying into?

 

Lmao dude you need reading comprehension help, I literally said it made no sense that he would play in the Netherlands game if he was one vote away from being removed from the World Cup by his teammates. It wasnt adding up. Then we found out it wasnt adding up because, gee, that vote never actually fucking happened. 

[goatsaag 279]

1 hour ago, The_Great_Hornsby said:

To be clear I am disgusted with both Gregg and Gio. Obviously a split vote from the players is an indictment on Gio's role but part of a coach's job is to manage egos and prevent situations like this from ever arising. I would like to know much more about this situation before we railroad Gio. Bottom line is, if he was this much of a cancer that they almost sent him packing, why play him at all versus Netherlands. Something is not adding up.

Isn't that Berhalter's whole statement though? There was a problem with Gio. They addressed the problem. Gio apologized. Everyone moved on. All is well. No reason to be disgusted with either of them for what occurred. It's like the situation with Weston last year.

Then this leaks to reporters after the fact, Berhalter's supposedly off the record statement is also released, and everyone makes a big deal out of it. I'm not sure why anyone cares other than to use it to reinforce whatever narrative they'd already bought into.

[The_Great_Hornsby 3352]

42 minutes ago, goatsaag said:

Isn't that Berhalter's whole statement though? There was a problem with Gio. They addressed the problem. Gio apologized. Everyone moved on. All is well. No reason to be disgusted with either of them for what occurred. It's like the situation with Weston last year.

Then this leaks to reporters after the fact, Berhalter's supposedly off the record statement is also released, and everyone makes a big deal out of it. I'm not sure why anyone cares other than to use it to reinforce whatever narrative they'd already bought into.

That is what is bothering me about it. Should've been an internal matter, and I dont entirely buy that he thought it was off the record, he shouldve been extremely clear with anyone he spoke to that it was off the record. 

[Captain Ron 12977]

13 hours ago, tokamak said:

Athletic is quoting sources that said Gio was sulking the whole time and actually had to apologize to the entire team at one point. Not sure why everyone keeps assuming this is 100% a Gregg problem. Can't remember which game, but I kept my eyes on Gio during one of the post-game celebrations and his body language was shit.

  Reveal hidden contents

Gio Reyna apologized to USMNT during World Cup for his lack of effort, sources say

By Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal

36m ago

 

47

 

---

Multiple sources close to the U.S. men’s national team have provided details to The Athletic that help explain attacker Gio Reyna’s lack of involvement at the World Cup.

The sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, said that Reyna showed an alarming lack of effort in training ahead of the U.S.’s opening match of the tournament against Wales on Nov. 21, including in a scrimmage against Qatari club Al Gharafa SC on Nov. 17. Reyna’s lack of intensity in the scrimmage — sources described him walking around throughout his time on the field during what was otherwise an intense session — caused significant frustration within the team. The lack of effort was so pronounced that it was unclear whether Reyna was protecting against an injury or just frustrated that he was not set to be a starter against Wales.

 

The drama surrounding Reyna crescendoed during the Wales game, when Reyna threw his shin guards after not being subbed in, and then into a post-Wales training session in which Reyna’s lack of effort continued again. It prompted several veteran players to speak with Reyna, including DeAndre Yedlin and Aaron Long, who pulled him aside and urged him to show more effort moving forward.

The sources said that the situation became untenable and that it had to be addressed multiple times, including with the coaching staff, until, finally, Reyna stood up before a video session and apologized to his teammates for his initial lack of intensity and said he understood he was part of a collective group. After the apology, several players on the team spoke up to hold Reyna accountable for his actions. Sources said players believed the group and its culture would be able to overcome the issues after Reyna’s apology, and that the 20-year-old turned a corner in regards to his effort in training. Within the team, the issues with Reyna ended there, the sources said.

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter appeared to reference the Reyna situation without naming the player at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership in New York last Tuesday, comments that were published in a Charterworks newsletter this week.

“In this last World Cup, we had a player that was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field,” Berhalter said. “One of 26 players, so it stood out. As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player. We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that’s how extreme it was. And what it came down to was, we’re going to have one more conversation with him, and part of the conversation was how we’re going to behave from here out. There aren’t going to be any more infractions.

 

“But the other thing we said to him was, you’re going to have to apologize to the group, but it’s going to have to say why you’re apologizing. It’s going to have to go deeper than just, ‘Guys, I’m sorry.’ And I prepped the leadership group with this. I said, ‘OK, this guy is going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team.’ And what was fantastic in this whole thing is that after he apologized, they stood up one by one and said, ‘Listen, it hasn’t been good enough. You haven’t been meeting our expectations of a teammate and we want to see change.’ They really took ownership of that process. And from that day on there were no issues with this player.

“As a coach, the way you can deal with things most appropriately is going back to your values. Because it’s difficult to send a player home. It was going to be a massive controversy. You would have been reading about it for five days straight. But we were prepared to do it, because he wasn’t meeting the standards of the group, and the group was prepared to do it as well.”

Multiple attempts to reach Reyna’s agent were not immediately successful.

Some of the issues with Reyna leaked out into the public during the tournament after Reyna did not play against Wales.

Berhalter used his first four subs while the U.S. led that match 1-0, then chose to bring winger Jordan Morris on for Tim Weah after Wales equalized in the 82nd minute. After the match, Berhalter explained his decision to opt for Morris over Reyna, saying that “in the phase of the game that we were at, we went with Jordan, who we felt could give us something with speed and power.” He noted that the team had done a “last-minute check” on Reyna, deemed him “OK” and said that he envisioned him playing a role against England in the U.S.’s second match of the group stage.

 

Asked to clarify what the last-minute check was for, Berhalter said “you could see there was a little bit of tightness” during the scrimmage with Al Gharafa a few days prior, that the team had been “building him up” and that “we think he can play a big role in this tournament — question is when, and hopefully on Friday (against England) he’ll be one further step ahead.”

A few minutes later, Reyna told reporters in the mixed zone that he was fully healthy.

“I felt good, I felt ready to go,” Reyna said. “But it was just his decision.”

On the day of the England game, former U.S. national team forward Eric Wynalda brought up Reyna’s lack of playing time during a Twitter Spaces with LA Times columnist Dylan Hernandez. Wynalda claimed that there was “internal strife” within the team about Berhalter’s decision to not play Reyna. He also alleged that Berhalter lied to the media when he told reporters after the Wales match that he held Reyna out of that match because of an injury. Wynalda claimed that he had spoken with Gio’s father Claudio, the former U.S. captain and Berhalter’s childhood friend and teammate at multiple World Cups.

“With Gio Reyna out of the lineup right now, which has been a massive controversy within the team — even his own teammates are wanting him on the field and it seems to be (causing) internal strife with the (team) and manager Gregg Berhalter,” Wynalda said. “I don’t know how much I should comment on that, but I’ve been trying to console Gio’s father, Claudio, for the last couple of hours, well, the last couple of days with everything that’s been going on. He was fit to play, Berhalter did lie to the media and say that it was an injury, ask the player to kind of go along with that story, which caused a rift between the two of them and now he’s on the bench which is really unfortunate. The situation should have been handled very differently.”

Wynalda slightly backed off his initial comments in a tweet posted to his account the day after his initial comments.

Berhalter wasn’t asked about Wynalda’s claims in his press conferences before or after the England game, though he did clarify in an answer that it was a “coach’s decision” not to play Reyna against Wales. Reyna played seven minutes against England. Berhalter then was asked before the Iran game if there was any rift between him and Gio Reyna and if he had, as Wynalda alleged, lied to the media and instructed Reyna to tell reporters that he was hurt after the Wales match.

“Speaking of the four-year journey, right, there’s been also four years of interacting with you guys (the press contingent). And what I’d say is, you know, I’ll leave it to you to decide if I asked Gio to lie about it,” Berhalter said. “That’s just not who I am. That’s not what I represent. So, you know, if you have to take Eric’s word or my word or whatever, feel free, but I know what happened, that’s not what I represent. Like every other person, Gio is a member of this team that we care deeply for and we know can help the team. It’s a matter of when he can help us and how he can help us.”

Shortly after that response, Wynalda walked back his initial statement even further on his SiriusXM show.

 

Reyna didn’t end up playing against Iran on Nov. 29 as the U.S. spent the second half protecting a narrow 1-0 lead.

“I think a lot of it comes down to timing and circumstance,” Berhalter said before facing the Netherlands in the round of 16. “If you look at how the games have unfolded, we’ve had the lead and had to hold on to the lead later in games. The only game that we didn’t have that scenario, we actually put him in to help get the victory. So it’s just how we can use him in the most effective way. Really talented player, and we’re looking for the right moment. But he can, no doubt, help his team.”

Berhalter did use Reyna more significantly in the U.S.’s loss to the Netherlands on Dec. 3. Down 2-0 at halftime, he brought the Borussia Dortmund attacker on for the second half, then shifted him to the wing when he inserted center forward Haji Wright. Reyna largely failed to make an impact in the contest, ending his first World Cup having played a total of 52 minutes as the U.S. were eliminated having scored just three goals in four matches.

Reyna scored for Dortmund in a shortened, 60-minute friendly against Rapid Bucharest, the third-place team in the Hungarian SuperLiga on Saturday in the “Christmas Cup” in Bucharest.

 

I haven't read all of the material after this in the thread, but I will say this as to why I put a lot of this on Gregg: As the coach he is supposed to manage this, and he just didn't. He should have known that he was going to get asked why Reyna didn't play after game #1. And his answer was TO LIE:

https://www.90min.com/posts/gregg-berhalter-explains-gio-reyna-absence-against-wales

Given what I have skimmed, Reyna clearly did something before the games that really rubbed everyone the wrong way. When you're the manager of a team, you don't lie about that. You have a discussion. He didn't have an issue with airing things out with McKennie back last year, so how is this different?

[alincoln 2385]

Why the fuck would gregg hold a vote including low level staffers?  You are the manager.  Manage.  "But how does the masseuse feel about Gio's attitude?"

Gio clearly has an attitude issue.  Anyone who has watched him closely at Dortmund knows that his effort level directly corresponds to his form.  If he is off, he is among the laziest players I have ever seen at that level.  It can be shocking.  I imagine that Greggg told Gio early in camp that he wasn't starting and Gio basically shut it down from there.  It's ultimately on Gio for being an insufferable brat but the situation also indicts Greggg's man-management skills.    

Greggg's "leaking" of the story is ridiculous.  Steve Sampson didn't confirm for years why John Harkes was dropped from the 98 squad although doing so would have spared him a ton of criticism.  Ironically, greggg's attempts at deflecting the heat for not playing Gio may ultimately cost him the job because bringing Gio back on board for 2026 is far more important than retaining a shitty manager whose brother used to run the USSF.  The hilarious element of the story how satisfied greggg clearly is with respect to his handling of the situation.  

[alincoln 2385]

7 hours ago, The_Great_Hornsby said:

That is what is bothering me about it. Should've been an internal matter, and I dont entirely buy that he thought it was off the record, he shouldve been extremely clear with anyone he spoke to that it was off the record. 

He recited the story at some leadership conference.  He knew exactly what he was doing

[Mittens 8397]

11 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

lol, you serious bro?

lol, I am serious bro.

It's a manager's job to get the most out of their players, whether they are the best teammates ever, or pouty bitches.  If a manager's actions are affecting the [arguably] most talented player on the team's attitude in a negative way, then that falls on them as well.  I've never been a fan of Gio's body language when things aren't going his way, so this news doesn't come as some huge surprise, but any time there is negative situation in a team dynamic, it is rarely one person's fault.  Uber talented athletes are often moody bitches and it's a manager's job to get the most out of them too.

[NoName 16645]

9 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

 

sending a player home is 100% not a back office staff decision, it is 100% on the coach - period. the fact that GGG even took a straw poll on that says all you need to know.

someone above said it but the only person who has anything to gain here is Greg. fuck that guy. NOT managing and playing one of your best 11 in any scenario is insanity. when you give minutes to Jordan fucking Morris and Haji Wright over Gio, you are doing it wrong. When you get cross with one of your best players, you are doing it wrong.

bringing back Greg and expecting him to be the one to take the USMNT to the promised land, or further than they made it in the first place, is doing it wrong.

[The_Great_Hornsby 3352]

2 minutes ago, NoName said:

sending a player home is 100% not a back office staff decision, it is 100% on the coach - period. the fact that GGG even took a straw poll on that says all you need to know.

someone above said it but the only person who has anything to gain here is Greg. fuck that guy. NOT managing and playing one of your best 11 in any scenario is insanity. when you give minutes to Jordan fucking Morris and Haji Wright over Gio, you are doing it wrong. When you get cross with one of your best players, you are doing it wrong.

bringing back Greg and expecting him to be the one to take the USMNT to the promised land, or further than they made it in the first place, is doing it wrong.

Exhibit Z of why Gregg needs to be fired. That was my first thought as well when they took a straw poll with the assistant coaches and trainers. That is insane. 

[tokamak 6464]

1 hour ago, NoName said:

sending a player home is 100% not a back office staff decision, it is 100% on the coach - period. the fact that GGG even took a straw poll on that says all you need to know.

someone above said it but the only person who has anything to gain here is Greg. fuck that guy. NOT managing and playing one of your best 11 in any scenario is insanity. when you give minutes to Jordan fucking Morris and Haji Wright over Gio, you are doing it wrong. When you get cross with one of your best players, you are doing it wrong.

bringing back Greg and expecting him to be the one to take the USMNT to the promised land, or further than they made it in the first place, is doing it wrong.

Clearly Gregg could have handled this better, but I disagree with the bolded part. If a player is loafing during practice and generally not giving a shit, starting him anyway could be really bad for team morale.

[Captain Ron 12977]

 

 

11 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

 

1 hour ago, alincoln said:

Why the fuck would gregg hold a vote including low level staffers?  You are the manager.  Manage.  "But how does the masseuse feel about Gio's attitude?"

Gio clearly has an attitude issue.  Anyone who has watched him closely at Dortmund knows that his effort level directly corresponds to his form.  If he is off, he is among the laziest players I have ever seen at that level.  It can be shocking.  I imagine that Greggg told Gio early in camp that he wasn't starting and Gio basically shut it down from there.  It's ultimately on Gio for being an insufferable brat but the situation also indicts Greggg's man-management skills.    

Greggg's "leaking" of the story is ridiculous.  Steve Sampson didn't confirm for years why John Harkes was dropped from the 98 squad although doing so would have spared him a ton of criticism.  Ironically, greggg's attempts at deflecting the heat for not playing Gio may ultimately cost him the job because bringing Gio back on board for 2026 is far more important than retaining a shitty manager whose brother used to run the USSF.  The hilarious element of the story how satisfied greggg clearly is with respect to his handling of the situation.  

 

WTF? This wasn't the players, but the backroom staff? Come the fuck on. Gregg just outted himself as a garbage manager. Just stupid.

 

1 hour ago, alincoln said:

He recited the story at some leadership conference.  He knew exactly what he was doing

I think he had an idea of what he was trying, but in the end this is likely going to blow up in his face.

 

And like others have said, Gio is a lot more a piece of the future of the USMNT than Gergg, so fuck him and lets just move on.

[NoName 16645]

15 minutes ago, tokamak said:

Clearly Gregg could have handled this better, but I disagree with the bolded part. If a player is loafing during practice and generally not giving a shit, starting him anyway could be really bad for team morale.

i think that a lot of the mgmt of players is the hardest part of the job. i think almost no matter how badly a player acted (and it's a known issue with the player) it is up to the coach to manage that player and their expectations.

i think him not managing Gio is a huge issue and a key issue with his shortcomings, in general - beyond the tactical decisions i disagree with. not like Gio is Messi but you know his issues, you know he is important to the team and brings something else you don't have and obviously no matter how well you do things as a manager things can still turn out bad but the fact he talked about it at all says everything i need to know about him and confirms what i think about him in general. EVEN IF YOU THINK IT IS OFF THE RECORD this isn't a situation where it is someone who was the last guy on the roster and has zero chance of being on the next cycle's team. this is someone who is 20, potentially has 2 or 3 more cycles ahead of him and will be a key part of the team you are hoping to manage in the future. what's the upside of even talking about it to anyone?

[Captain Ron 12977]

Unless Gio choked someone out - fire Gergg.

[The Dog 44205]

First keep in mind that I'm someone who wants Berhalter gone.

That said...

Gio was the problem in this situation. Not Berhalter. GGG has been hiding this the entire world cup. He even lied about an injury to cover for Gio. 

What was he supposed to say when asked about why Gio wasn't playing? 

"Well he's being a total slacker and dipshit and the entire team is pissed at him. The last thing I want to do is reward him for this behavior so that's why his ass is on the bench and he's lucky he's not at the Doha airport boarding a plane home."

we all wanted to know why Gio wasn't playing. Now we know.

[ConferenceRoom 6155]

37 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

Unless Gio choked someone out - fire Gergg.

[pacman 7439]

Gio was the problem, agree. But, this is just another indication the job is bigger than Gerg is capable of handling, imo.

[Captain Ron 12977]

 

[Captain Ron 12977]

 

[Captain Ron 12977]

 

[shnsajax 3592]

Keeping Gregg at this point is a fucking disaster! It was never good to begin with, but he just can’t comeback now.

[NoName 16645]

5 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

 

telling Gio he is going to have a limited role before the world cup goes back to the general issue with GGG's tactical direction. how he handled the situation, from soup to nuts, does nothing but confirm my issues with him as a team/ego/player manager.

[The Dog 44205]

1 hour ago, shnsajax said:

Keeping Gregg at this point is a fucking disaster! It was never good to begin with, but he just can’t comeback now.

Agreed. Whomever released these "off the record" comments pretty much assured that Berhalter cannot return. 

1 hour ago, NoName said:

telling Gio he is going to have a limited role before the world cup goes back to the general issue with GGG's tactical direction. how he handled the situation, from soup to nuts, does nothing but confirm my issues with him as a team/ego/player manager.

GGG's tactical direction/decisions in no way excuses Gio's response. Gio had two options:

1. Work hard in training and hope that GGG found a reason to play him more, or

2. Be a whiny bitch and pout.

Gio chose option 2. 

[WBT 20763]

Fine but the bigger sin was still putting him in that position to begin with

[Captain Ron 12977]

7 minutes ago, The Dog said:

Agreed. Whomever released these "off the record" comments pretty much assured that Berhalter cannot return. 

GGG's tactical direction/decisions in no way excuses Gio's response. Gio had two options:

1. Work hard in training and hope that GGG found a reason to play him more, or

2. Be a whiny bitch and pout.

Gio chose option 2. 

Yes. And ... ?

The end result was it was handled in house. 

Airing it out after the fact does nothing. In fact it makes Gregg look worse

[NoName 16645]

27 minutes ago, The Dog said:

Agreed. Whomever released these "off the record" comments pretty much assured that Berhalter cannot return. 

GGG's tactical direction/decisions in no way excuses Gio's response. Gio had two options:

1. Work hard in training and hope that GGG found a reason to play him more, or

2. Be a whiny bitch and pout.

Gio chose option 2. 

i think tactically it was a mistake

Gio has the majority of the fault for #2, BUT when it's your job to manage dudes then it's your job to manage dudes and their expectations. if Gio went into the World Cup thinking he was going to play a ton and then you told him he wasn't - that's your fault for not setting those expectations. letting any of your players know where they stand expectations wise right before the tournament - literally in Qatar - is a failure.

[NoName 16645]

20 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

Yes. And ... ?

The end result was it was handled in house. 

Airing it out after the fact does nothing. In fact it makes Gregg look worse

the one who discussed it publicly in the first place was Greg. one more tactical mistake on his part. the fact he thought that was a good example of anything to bring up at a leadership conference of all things says all you need to know.

IDGAF if you think its all OTR, you are speaking about internal team events about a player who has probably 2-3 more cycles in him in a perfect world, who is on the team you are hoping to manage. why would you talk about it at all? what's the upside?

[Captain Ron 12977]

 

[NoName 16645]

Athletic Article --> Zack Steffen: ‘I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken’
 

Quote

 

And to another: “I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken. I had a lot of feelings, different feelings. At the same time, I believe God has a plan for me, for all of us. I trust him. I walk in faith with him.”

Things perhaps began to change when Steffen did not appear in the US games in June. He was then not included in September’s World Cup warm-up friendlies.

Here, he reveals why:

“That was through my choice.

“I was… I decided to call out of camp because I was having mental health issues back in May and June. That’s why I missed that. I’d missed it to be home with my family.

“He’s the coach and he makes decisions. So, yeah, I was there in March and April … he made his decision.”

Had mental health been an issue for him before?

“That was really the first time with that, and with them. They were understanding, they didn’t want me to be … they wanted me to be the healthy Zack Steffen.”

 

 

Full Text

Spoiler

Zack Steffen: ‘I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken’

Michael Walker

Dec 11, 2022

69

The Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough, Saturday: barely five minutes after the final whistle had blown on Middlesbrough’s 2-1 win over Luton Town in the Championship, Zack Steffen was walking down a corridor to a small office adjacent to the home dressing room.

Steffen had removed his jersey but was still in the rest of his kit. Middlesbrough’s winning goal had come in added time and the noise from the two sets of players was still in the air. It was matchday.

 

But Steffen was here to talk about something else – the World Cup. On November 9, Steffen had been big news, just not in the way the 27-year-old had envisaged. His name was the one missing from Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT squad; there were others, but Steffen was the shock omission.

Now, in this anonymous little room, he describes how he found out the day before, how it affected him and what it means for his today and his tomorrows. And Steffen concludes: “I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken.”

He also says: “Yeah, I would like to play again.”

If there is bitterness underlying his quietly delivered replies, it is well-hidden. There is, however, no disguising the anguish of a goalkeeper many expected not just to be in Berhalter’s squad, but in his starting XI in Qatar. “It hurt,” Steffen says.

On November 8, Middlesbrough were playing away to Blackpool in English football’s second tier, their fourth match in 12 days under newly-appointed head coach Michael Carrick. The squad were at the team’s hotel resting in the afternoon. After a short sleep, Steffen saw a text on his phone. It was from Berhalter.

 

Zack Steffen’s mental health meant he had to miss a camp (Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Steffen called Berhalter, as requested. The two men go back a few years, to days together at Columbus Crew – when Steffen was MLS goalkeeper of the year in 2018, Berhalter was his head coach. Steffen had been in US camps under Jurgen Klinsmann, but he was viewed as Berhalter’s go-to ’keeper.

In March, Steffen played in the key World Cup fixtures that sealed qualification for Qatar, having also started in major games last November, such as the 2-0 victory over Mexico in Cincinnati. He seemed a certainty for the 26-strong finals squad; in March, it was Arsenal’s Matt Turner who seemed to be the US No.2. But Berhalter had news for everyone.

“It’s between him and I,” Steffen says of that phone call. “We had a 10, 15-minute conversation. I was shocked, I was mad. He said he wasn’t taking me on the roster.”

 

Steffen’s answers are brief, sometimes halting. His tone is phlegmatic – “That’s just how it goes sometimes, that’s life, it has ups and downs and unexpected turns” – but November 2022 will clearly stick with him in a manner unanticipated earlier this year. As recently as late October, The Athletic had been to interview him at Middlesbrough’s training ground and he had been looking forward to the World Cup. He said it would be “cool” to meet up with England’s Manchester City players – Steffen is on loan from City.

“Obviously it was a big blow,” he adds, “I definitely was heartbroken and it takes time to get over.

“Now that it’s been some time and I’ve had some reflection, it’s in the past. I move on. I’m just using that as motivation.”

To another question, he responds: “Like I say, that’s how life goes, how football goes. There’s only 26 players who can go. It’s just how it is.”

GO DEEPER

USA passed and pressed like a modern club side. Will they have convinced the world?

And to another: “I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken. I had a lot of feelings, different feelings. At the same time, I believe God has a plan for me, for all of us. I trust him. I walk in faith with him.”

Things perhaps began to change when Steffen did not appear in the US games in June. He was then not included in September’s World Cup warm-up friendlies.

Here, he reveals why:

“That was through my choice.

“I was… I decided to call out of camp because I was having mental health issues back in May and June. That’s why I missed that. I’d missed it to be home with my family.

“He’s the coach and he makes decisions. So, yeah, I was there in March and April … he made his decision.”

Had mental health been an issue for him before?

“That was really the first time with that, and with them. They were understanding, they didn’t want me to be … they wanted me to be the healthy Zack Steffen.”

 

Steffen in action for Middlesbrough (Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

That night in Blackpool, he put his conversation with Berhalter to one side, went out and kept a clean sheet. Carrick praised his professionalism and resilience. Steffen is at Middlesbrough for the rest of the season; he remains contracted to City until summer 2025. At club level, his career looks solid.

 

Yet November 2022 will sting for a long time.

“It hurt,” he says, “I try to be understanding and see both sides of everything, but it was tough, the last month, to deal with this.”

Middlesbrough, supportive and considerate, gave him time to go home to Philadelphia to be with his family while the club season was paused for the playing of the World Cup. Did he get to see the USMNT matches at the tournament?

“Yeah, I was able to watch the games. It wasn’t easy. But I still wanted to support them, see them do the best they can, prove the world wrong – that we can play and we’re a force to be reckoned with.

“It was hard to do that, but we’re only in the World Cup every four years.”

Was he in contact with anyone?

“No, I was just going to let them do their thing.”

One person Steffen has spoken to is Luton counterpart Ethan Horvath. Horvath did go to Qatar as part of the US squad and the coincidence of the Championship fixture list brought the two men together in the middle of the pitch at the end of Saturday’s game, two American goalkeepers locked together in freezing fog in the north east of England.

It was quite a scene. Middlesbrough’s victory lifted them to 12th in the table, three points off the promotion play-offs after a surprisingly slow beginning to the season. Maybe this will signal the re-start of Steffen’s USMNT journey. He confirms that he wants it to continue.

“It was good to see him,” Steffen says of Horvath. “We have great camaraderie. The boys in that camp, in the squad, are just amazing. I hope it’s not the end. I would like to play on. We’ll see. All I can do is move on, eat it up and use it as motivation and work to be at the next camp.”

There is always 2026, the next World Cup, a tournament the US will co-host with Canada and Mexico.

“Yeah,” he says with a smile. “I’ll be 31 then. That’s the goal.”

 

[dieucla98 2942]

Squarely on Team Gio if for no other reason than I believe him when he says he's going to work on becoming a better person (which just naturally comes when you're no longer a 19 year old male) vs believing Gregg is going to change one iota.

[Captain Ron 12977]

8 minutes ago, dieucla98 said:

Squarely on Team Gio if for no other reason than I believe him when he says he's going to work on becoming a better person (which just naturally comes when you're no longer a 19 year old male) vs believing Gregg is going to change one iota.

I'm squarely on Team Gio because
A. He is clearly an important piece of the 2026 and 2030 teams (potentially 2034 too).

and B. Gregg kind of sucks as a coach.

 

 

[Napoleon 8710]

1 hour ago, NoName said:

Athletic Article --> Zack Steffen: ‘I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken’
 

 

Full Text

  Hide contents

 

 

Zack Steffen: ‘I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken’

 

Michael Walker

Dec 11, 2022

 

69

 

The Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough, Saturday: barely five minutes after the final whistle had blown on Middlesbrough’s 2-1 win over Luton Town in the Championship, Zack Steffen was walking down a corridor to a small office adjacent to the home dressing room.

Steffen had removed his jersey but was still in the rest of his kit. Middlesbrough’s winning goal had come in added time and the noise from the two sets of players was still in the air. It was matchday.

 

But Steffen was here to talk about something else – the World Cup. On November 9, Steffen had been big news, just not in the way the 27-year-old had envisaged. His name was the one missing from Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT squad; there were others, but Steffen was the shock omission.

Now, in this anonymous little room, he describes how he found out the day before, how it affected him and what it means for his today and his tomorrows. And Steffen concludes: “I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken.”

He also says: “Yeah, I would like to play again.”

If there is bitterness underlying his quietly delivered replies, it is well-hidden. There is, however, no disguising the anguish of a goalkeeper many expected not just to be in Berhalter’s squad, but in his starting XI in Qatar. “It hurt,” Steffen says.

On November 8, Middlesbrough were playing away to Blackpool in English football’s second tier, their fourth match in 12 days under newly-appointed head coach Michael Carrick. The squad were at the team’s hotel resting in the afternoon. After a short sleep, Steffen saw a text on his phone. It was from Berhalter.

 

Zack Steffen’s mental health meant he had to miss a camp (Photo: Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Steffen called Berhalter, as requested. The two men go back a few years, to days together at Columbus Crew – when Steffen was MLS goalkeeper of the year in 2018, Berhalter was his head coach. Steffen had been in US camps under Jurgen Klinsmann, but he was viewed as Berhalter’s go-to ’keeper.

In March, Steffen played in the key World Cup fixtures that sealed qualification for Qatar, having also started in major games last November, such as the 2-0 victory over Mexico in Cincinnati. He seemed a certainty for the 26-strong finals squad; in March, it was Arsenal’s Matt Turner who seemed to be the US No.2. But Berhalter had news for everyone.

“It’s between him and I,” Steffen says of that phone call. “We had a 10, 15-minute conversation. I was shocked, I was mad. He said he wasn’t taking me on the roster.”

 

Steffen’s answers are brief, sometimes halting. His tone is phlegmatic – “That’s just how it goes sometimes, that’s life, it has ups and downs and unexpected turns” – but November 2022 will clearly stick with him in a manner unanticipated earlier this year. As recently as late October, The Athletic had been to interview him at Middlesbrough’s training ground and he had been looking forward to the World Cup. He said it would be “cool” to meet up with England’s Manchester City players – Steffen is on loan from City.

“Obviously it was a big blow,” he adds, “I definitely was heartbroken and it takes time to get over.

“Now that it’s been some time and I’ve had some reflection, it’s in the past. I move on. I’m just using that as motivation.”

To another question, he responds: “Like I say, that’s how life goes, how football goes. There’s only 26 players who can go. It’s just how it is.”

GO DEEPER

USA passed and pressed like a modern club side. Will they have convinced the world?

And to another: “I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken. I had a lot of feelings, different feelings. At the same time, I believe God has a plan for me, for all of us. I trust him. I walk in faith with him.”

Things perhaps began to change when Steffen did not appear in the US games in June. He was then not included in September’s World Cup warm-up friendlies.

Here, he reveals why:

“That was through my choice.

“I was… I decided to call out of camp because I was having mental health issues back in May and June. That’s why I missed that. I’d missed it to be home with my family.

“He’s the coach and he makes decisions. So, yeah, I was there in March and April … he made his decision.”

Had mental health been an issue for him before?

“That was really the first time with that, and with them. They were understanding, they didn’t want me to be … they wanted me to be the healthy Zack Steffen.”

 

Steffen in action for Middlesbrough (Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

That night in Blackpool, he put his conversation with Berhalter to one side, went out and kept a clean sheet. Carrick praised his professionalism and resilience. Steffen is at Middlesbrough for the rest of the season; he remains contracted to City until summer 2025. At club level, his career looks solid.

 

Yet November 2022 will sting for a long time.

“It hurt,” he says, “I try to be understanding and see both sides of everything, but it was tough, the last month, to deal with this.”

Middlesbrough, supportive and considerate, gave him time to go home to Philadelphia to be with his family while the club season was paused for the playing of the World Cup. Did he get to see the USMNT matches at the tournament?

“Yeah, I was able to watch the games. It wasn’t easy. But I still wanted to support them, see them do the best they can, prove the world wrong – that we can play and we’re a force to be reckoned with.

“It was hard to do that, but we’re only in the World Cup every four years.”

Was he in contact with anyone?

“No, I was just going to let them do their thing.”

One person Steffen has spoken to is Luton counterpart Ethan Horvath. Horvath did go to Qatar as part of the US squad and the coincidence of the Championship fixture list brought the two men together in the middle of the pitch at the end of Saturday’s game, two American goalkeepers locked together in freezing fog in the north east of England.

It was quite a scene. Middlesbrough’s victory lifted them to 12th in the table, three points off the promotion play-offs after a surprisingly slow beginning to the season. Maybe this will signal the re-start of Steffen’s USMNT journey. He confirms that he wants it to continue.

“It was good to see him,” Steffen says of Horvath. “We have great camaraderie. The boys in that camp, in the squad, are just amazing. I hope it’s not the end. I would like to play on. We’ll see. All I can do is move on, eat it up and use it as motivation and work to be at the next camp.”

There is always 2026, the next World Cup, a tournament the US will co-host with Canada and Mexico.

“Yeah,” he says with a smile. “I’ll be 31 then. That’s the goal.”

 

 

Well Zack...

I was shocked...

I WAS THRILLED, ELATED, & HOPEFUL!

It was similar to when Chris Armas got injured and I knew that he wasn't going to sink the USMNT's chances in 2002. I did not want Zack Steffen and his multi-year suckage anywhere near this team. And for that, Gregg Berhalter, I am extremely grateful. As much as Gregg sucked all throughout qualifying, not even including Zack gave me as much hope as calling in Tim Ream and deciding that he was immediately a starter.

Maybe Zack should try not sucking so much dick while between the pipes and then perhaps he could ride the bench in 2024 & 2026. Just a thought.

[The Dog 44205]

 

[shnsajax 3592]

Dike goal to give WBA the win today

[Captain Ron 12977]

1 hour ago, shnsajax said:

Dike goal to give WBA the win today
 

A cross with a header. Glad this guy never got into our WC player pool. 

[Napoleon 8710]

1 hour ago, shnsajax said:

Dike goal to give WBA the win today
 

 

13 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

A cross with a header. Glad this guy never got into our WC player pool. 

I had completely forgotten about him. It’s so nice to see him score a goal for West Brom…

…while Jesús Ferreira a started a World Cup match in the knockout rounds. 
 

🤯

[Bodhi 1127]

3 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

I'm squarely on Team Gio because
A. He is clearly an important piece of the 2026 and 2030 teams (potentially 2034 too).

and B. Gregg kind of sucks as a coach.

 

 

This^

11 hours ago, alincoln said:

Greggg's "leaking" of the story is ridiculous. 

Shows lack of any leadership.  He knew, or should have known, this would get out.  Either way, fuck him.  His crayon tactics require him to be a masterful CEO, which he clearly isn't.  

[Ted Lange 16158]

 

[The_Great_Hornsby 3352]

17 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

 

Hercules nailed it on the head. He betrayed the brotherhood. Gregg needed to go, he was never the guy. He was a bad hire and we have a golden opportunity in 2026. We don't need his petty drama with Gio. Time for an international hire, a mercenary that will cut out the Mickey Mouse shit that has been going on. 

[Captain Ron 12977]

You know what’s really crazy? For all this talk of limited role for Reyna, had we blown it against Iran, gave up a goal late when we bunkered in, Reyna would have gotten 7’ across 3 games and we would have been out. 

[Trey3216 15381]

22 hours ago, goatsaag said:

Isn't that Berhalter's whole statement though? There was a problem with Gio. They addressed the problem. Gio apologized. Everyone moved on. All is well. No reason to be disgusted with either of them for what occurred. It's like the situation with Weston last year.

Then this leaks to reporters after the fact, Berhalter's supposedly off the record statement is also released, and everyone makes a big deal out of it. I'm not sure why anyone cares other than to use it to reinforce whatever narrative they'd already bought into.

Gergg’s off the record statement was released because Gergg and his brother are trying to keep Gergg on as the manager going forward.   He had to put something out there making it look like he had good reason to not play one of his best players in the most important international tournament in the sport and all it did was show his ass.  What an idiot.  

Edited December 13, 2022 by Trey3216

[shnsajax 3592]

4 hours ago, Napoleon said:

 

I had completely forgotten about him. It’s so nice to see him score a goal for West Brom…

…while Jesús Ferreira a started a World Cup match in the knockout rounds. 
 

🤯

I'm just happy he's healthy again. Still think he could be the most infectious #9 we have as of today and should be our backup behind Pepi in '26 and of course ahead of Haji. Hoping he could be at a mid table Premier League team by 2024 if he can stay healthy. 

[Napoleon 8710]

3 hours ago, The_Great_Hornsby said:

Hercules nailed it on the head. He betrayed the brotherhood. Gregg needed to go, he was never the guy. He was a bad hire and we have a golden opportunity in 2026. We don't need his petty drama with Gio. Time for an international hire, a mercenary that will cut out the Mickey Mouse shit that has been going on. 

I would love Carlo Ancelloti, but Brazil has reportedly already reached out to him to replace Tite. This was done initially back in October.

But why would he want to manage Brazil when he could manage Jordan Morris, Deandre Yedlin, Luca De La Torre, Gio Reyna, Jesús Ferreira, Walker Zimmerman, Zack Steffen and more?!

 

3 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

You know what’s really crazy? For all this talk of limited role for Reyna, had we blown it against Iran, gave up a goal late when we bunkered in, Reyna would have gotten 7’ across 3 games and we would have been out. 

A ball had to be saved nearly on our goal line in the dying minutes of that match or we don’t go through.

 

1 hour ago, shnsajax said:

I'm just happy he's healthy again. Still think he could be the most infectious #9 we have as of today and should be our backup behind Pepi in '26 and of course ahead of Haji. Hoping he could be at a mid table Premier League team by 2024 if he can stay healthy. 

First off, Haji technically has a World Cup goal on her permanent record. Even if it was 10X less likely to go in than Julian Green’s mishit slice in the dying minutes against Belgium in 2014, it still went in.

I think that he had one other pseudo shot (maybe not on frame), but in general, he was not even as good as Pepi and he’s 25-ish and playing regularly… just so annoyed. 

He got opportunities similar to the ones he scores on in Turkey and he seemed to do nothing with them. I hope that this is his only serious run with the USMNT, because Pepi could have done at least what Ferreira, Wright, & Morris did combined, and probably would have had the team moving faster with his flicks and turns.

Roster selection was so bad. Even taking the Reyna soap opera out of it…

Luca De La Torre was never healthy and they knew this before the tournament, Roldán was never going to play, and Acosta’s ball skills are limited. There is no legitimate reason that Eryk  Williamson was not in the pool to give much needed rest to Musah, and maybe McKennie.

Dest, Robinson, Musah & McKennie practically running out of gas early in the Netherlands match was why we never had a chance to advance to the Quarterfinals. And that all goes back to a manager who doesn’t know fuck about shit!

[NoName 16645]

Bill C wrote a long article on the coaching situation, I have tried to clean up all the ESPN crap around it.

this is GGG in a nutshell to me:

Quote

First things first: It's not enough to say that since Berhalter took the US to the World Cup round of 16, his tenure has therefore been a success. Evaluating long-term performance based on four matches is poor process, and beyond that, four of the past five full-time national team managers have managed that feat at least once. The US have now reached the round of 16 in five of the past eight World Cups; the team didn't overachieve in Qatar -- they simply achieved.

game management is not good:
 

Quote

 

In three of these four matches, Berhalter made his first substitution in the 64th minute or later, despite the US having better depth and, therefore, better potential for strategic adjustments. He was as or more conservative with his subs in the World Cup -- of 19 total subs, only two came before the 65th minute, and six came in the 82nd minute or later. (This says nothing of his use of Reyna, who only played 52 minutes in the four matches. Recent revelations have shined a light on why he might not have played much, though I'm assuming everyone reading this will have a different opinion on whether or not those reasons are legitimate.)

Throughout the group stage, the team's effectiveness faded dramatically as matches progressed. In the first 60 minutes of each match, the US outscored opponents by a combined 2-0 and attempted shots worth 2.2 xG to opponents' 0.9.

But in the last 30 minutes, opponents scored the only goal and generated shots worth 2.2 xG to 0.4 for the US. Game state played a role in this -- the US was leading for all of the second half against Iran and for most of it against Wales -- but neither the strategy nor the substitutions helped.

 

 

the set piece information is somehow than i thought it was during the games:

 

Quote

 

If you're going to cross so much, maybe play good crossers?

A well-placed cross has been a devastating attacking tool for ages, but attempting too many aimless crosses is a calling card for an attack with no other ideas. This World Cup's four semifinalists -- Croatia, Argentina, France and Morocco -- have averaged 15.6 cross attempts per 90 minutes and have averaged a 29% completion rate on such crosses between them.

The US averaged 23.3 crosses (second most behind only Mexico) and completed an egregious 12%, worst of the 32 teams in the field. Left winger Christian Pulisic and left back Antonee Robinson attempted 52 crosses and found their target on just five of them (9.6%). Dest completed one of nine, Musah zero of eight. Only Timothy Weah (3-for-8) completed an acceptable percentage, but he didn't attempt many.

Once again, having a major target at center-forward can make a huge difference in this regard. But whether it's getting players like Lennon (34% cross completion rate in MLS this season), Mihailovic (37%), Miljevic (42%) or even 18-year old Jackson Hopkins (38% completion rate for DC United) more involved, positioning players better in attack or simply not crossing so damn much, this absolute dead zone needs to be addressed.

If you don't have a ton of natural goal scorers, manufacture goals through set pieces

For the competition overall, 28% of crosses on corner kicks were completed to a teammate; for the US, that percentage was 9.5%, third worst. Overall, the US were one of 15 teams to not score a goal from set pieces, and they only generated two shots on target from them in four matches -- both were both poorly hit shots from one single corner sequence against the Netherlands.

This was the continuation of a trend. The US scored three goals from set pieces in 14 World Cup qualification matches, which ranked fourth among eight CONCACAF teams, but all three goals came in one match against Honduras; they created almost no threat from set pieces in the other 13 matches.

Pulisic has been the top-choice corner taker for a while despite the fact that he has attempted one corner in two seasons with Chelsea. Reyna (0.56 chances per 90 from set pieces over the last two seasons with Borussia Dortmund) and Aaronson (0.30) are more proven in this regard.

But even beyond who is attempting the corners, set pieces have been a source of innovation and advantage for many clubs and countries in recent seasons, and the US need to rebuild their entire set piece program from the ground up.

 

 

 

 

full text

 

Spoiler

How can the US improve under Gregg Berhalter -- or a new coach -- and what will it take?

3:32 PM CT

• 
  Bill ConnellyESPN Staff Writer

•  
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Facebook Messenger
• Pinterest
• Email

Last week, in response to word that the US Soccer Federation was interested in re-signing men's head coach Gregg Berhalter following a run to the World Cup round of 16, the general world soccer media, and a lot of the sport's more casual American fans, shrugged their respective shoulders and said, "Yeah, that makes sense."

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga and more (US)

Under Berhalter the US met their general goals in this World Cup cycle -- despite an extreme youth movement, they both qualified for the competition and went unbeaten in group play to advance to the knockout rounds, where they lost to the Netherlands. They showed well against England, they've crafted a four-match unbeaten streak against Mexico, and when these things happen, you re-sign your coach. It's the way things tend to work.

For hard-cores on Twitter and elsewhere, however, the response was apoplectic. "#BerhalterOut" began trending immediately, and even the most tepid acknowledgments of Berhalter's accomplishments -- or the idea that he isn't the worst manager in the history of the sport -- drew endless ire and a reliable list of anti-Berhalter talking points. Even for this social media veteran, one who has written about Berhalter's flaws and mistakes plenty of times in recent years, the dichotomy was disorienting.

Fans of the US are expecting more from Berhalter given the wealth of talent in his squad and the wider player pool. (Photo by Mauricio Salas/Jam Media/Getty Images)

It was the same story over the weekend when news broke that, in response to attitude issues and a supposed lack of effort from young attacker Gio Reyna, Berhalter was allegedly prepared to send him home until a player vote and a confrontational conversation between the burgeoning star and the team's leaders helped to create a positive path forward.

To many, this was a sign of a positive, player-led culture, one that any program should strive to establish. To others, it was a sign that Berhalter is ruining Reyna and will ruin everybody else if not fired immediately.

This speaks to the relationships that fans tend to have with national team managers. Lots of English fans hate Gareth Southgate -- who took England to the 2018 World Cup semis and 2020 Euro finals and whose team outplayed France on Saturday and were unlucky not to advance. Lots of Spanish fans hated Luis Enrique. Plenty of French fans are less than enamored with Didier Deschamps, etc.

It also spoke to the contradiction that can afflict many coaches: The things he tends to do well (establishing a strong environment for getting a talented young team to play with confidence) are things not often credited to the coach by fans. The things he does poorly, however (roster selections, substitutions), are what fans tend to yell about the most.

Berhalter is said to want to explore his European club options before officially re-signing with the US, and we'll see whether the recent swirling drama surrounding the Reyna incident has any impact on his or anyone else's intentions. But while we wait to see whether he or someone new will be leading the team over the next four years, let's talk about what exactly he did well and where he or another guy will need to improve the most over the coming years if the US men's national team are to clear a rising bar moving forward.

What Berhalter has done well

 

First things first: It's not enough to say that since Berhalter took the US to the World Cup round of 16, his tenure has therefore been a success. Evaluating long-term performance based on four matches is poor process, and beyond that, four of the past five full-time national team managers have managed that feat at least once. The US have now reached the round of 16 in five of the past eight World Cups; the team didn't overachieve in Qatar -- they simply achieved.

 

All in all, Berhalter's record has been solid but unspectacular. The US won both the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup in the summer of 2021 and have indeed gone unbeaten for four straight matches against Mexico. But goal scoring has frequently been an issue -- even in the winning Gold Cup run, five of six wins came by 1-0 margins -- and the team struggled mightily away from home in World Cup qualification. They dropped points to inferior competition (El Salvador, Panama, Jamaica) and finished tied for third with Costa Rica, avoiding the World Cup's qualification playoff thanks only to goal differential.

To date, the US rank just 23rd in the world ratings at EloRatings.net, an improvement over what Berhalter inherited (they were 34th at the end of 2018) but slightly below where they finished following the 2014 World Cup cycle (19th) with Jurgen Klinsmann. Even with an incredibly young squad, it is fair for fans to have hoped to see more consistently solid performances. It's also fair to acknowledge what he seems to have done well over the past four years.

The US boast a promising next generation of players, but will they jell and overcome hurdles on and off the pitch? Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

The best generation of young American players is playing in a player-led culture

 

"Culture" might be one of the most overused and misunderstood terms in sports. But creating a good one within a national team structure can be immensely useful, and it appears Berhalter has done just that.

Generally speaking, I tend to view culture like this: When your veterans and leaders are serving as assistant coaches and holding everyone accountable when the coaches aren't around, you've got a good one. And from what we know about this team, it appears Berhalter has helped to create a good one. (It obviously isn't all of his doing, but he certainly hasn't gotten in the way of it.)

Berhalter has been working with both the youngest and most high-upside base of talent a US manager has seen. Of the 16 players who recorded more than 40 minutes at the World Cup, 11 are currently 24 years old or younger. Now, eight of those 11 play for clubs in Europe's big five leagues, and many of them have logged major minutes in the Champions League.

There are more Americans playing for high-level European clubs than ever before, and that's an obvious luxury for Berhalter. But this is still a really young core, and as tends to happen with young teams, there have been some dramatic episodes.

Thus far, the responses to the drama have been what one would hope to see. When Berhalter suspended star Weston McKennie for protocol violations early in World Cup qualification, the midfielder responded with a series of strong performances upon his return. And as Berhalter and his assistants tried to figure out how to handle Reyna's supposedly lackluster training performances, the team's own players stepped in and hashed the issue out with him.

Even young leaders like 23-year old captain Tyler Adams are serving assistant-level leadership roles, and while you have to guard against cliques forming -- something bad coming from something good -- this can help whoever is in charge of the team moving forward.

That the Reyna story emerged at all, of course, was a mark against Berhalter, who shared details in what he thought were off-the-record remarks at a leadership summit in New York last week. One could consider it awfully naive that he thought such details would not emerge publicly, and we'll see what impact that has on his relationship with both Reyna and the team as a whole.

Thus far, his man management has met the moment, but that could change at any time.

As captain, Tyler Adams shoulders part of the responsibility to address and solve any issues in the dressing room. Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

He has recruited well

 

He hasn't won every important recruiting battle for dual nationals, but he has won some very big ones. Fullback Sergino Dest, one of the team's best performers in Qatar, could have chosen the Netherlands. Yunus Musah, part of the "MMA" (McKennie-Musah-Adams) midfield that wrecked shop for a good portion of the team's World Cup stint, could have chosen England, Ghana or Italy.

Jesus Ferreira, Berhalter's first-choice center-forward for much of World Cup qualification, could have chosen Colombia. Midfielder Malik Tillman, a 20-year old Bayern Munich prospect currently on loan with Rangers, could become a major piece in the coming years and could have chosen Germany.

Other US coaches have recruited dual nationals, too, but Berhalter and the US have won some high-profile battles, and it has raised the team's upside immensely moving forward.

He created an identity that the US adhered to on the biggest stage

Berhalter's heavy-pressing, heavy-possession approach is a system that doesn't fit the US player pool perfectly, but we certainly saw some of the potential in Qatar. It maximized the team's athleticism at fullback and midfield and became something that opponents absolutely had to adjust for. Southgate's England, one of the most talented teams in the world, didn't really adjust well. (Louis van Gaal's Netherlands, however, did.)

Tactically, Plan A is generally good

We'll talk about the need for a Plan B below, but the US won the first 60 minutes in each match of the World Cup group stage, for instance, and adjusted their identity appropriately to more of a counter-attacking approach for many of their recent matches with Mexico.

Beyond Berhalter's specific strengths, there are also a few trends that favor retaining even a decent coach on a more long-term basis.

A recurring criticism of the US is their lack of a pure striker who can deliver goals. Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images

Second-cycle coaches are succeeding throughout the world

In the quarterfinals in Qatar, Croatia, led by Zlatko Dalic in his second World Cup, beat Brazil in their second with Tite; France, in their second World Cup with Deschamps, beat England in their second with Southgate. Portugal reached the quarterfinals in their eighth year and second World Cup with Fernando Santos, and Van Gaal led the Netherlands to the quarters as well in his second (non-consecutive) World Cup.

Fans in the States have a strong fear of second cycles, and not without reason. After leading the US to the World Cup quarterfinals, Bruce Arena failed to navigate them out of the group stage in 2006. His successor, Bob Bradley, renewed his contract after a return to the knockout rounds in 2010, but underwhelming results led to his dismissal a year later; in his place stepped Klinsmann, who again brought the US to the round of 16 in 2014 but was fired early in a dreadful (and ultimately failed) World Cup qualification run in 2017.

Still, broader trends say renewing a coach's contract isn't automatically an awful decision, and continuity seems to have helped quite a few major countries recently.

The success of the US in 2026 will be as dependent on talent as coaching

There aren't many genuinely top-class, best-in-the-world coaches in the international soccer pool, and a lot of them bring pretty clear flaws to the table. Southgate and Deschamps have both been castigated for not playing with enough attacking intent (considering the absurd attacking talent at their disposal). Santos' Portugal had some of the most creative players in the world, and Luis Enrique's Spain had some of the best passers, and neither had any idea how to tactically break down Morocco in recent knockout matches.

The US played about as well as they could have in Qatar considering their own shortcomings in attack -- for all of the exciting midfield and wing talent they boast, they lack in the center-forward department, like quite a few other teams. While we will dive into some of Berhalter's flaws below, the fate of the US in the 2026 World Cup will be as dependent on the same center-forward position as it is on whoever is or could have been the manager.

 

Gregg Berhalter talks to Sam Borden after the USMNT's World Cup exit at the hands of the Netherlands.

The "must improve" list

There is a certain resignation that comes with realizing your player pool is limited in specific ways -- and that the pool of available coaches probably is, too -- but none of this is to say that Berhalter himself cannot perform better or evolve as manager if he were to sign on for four more years. Let's talk about where he needs to do just that.

Game management has lacked

If your players are good and your Plan A is good, you're going to win quite a few matches. But when the US haven't been superior out of the gate, Berhalter has not proven incredible at figuring out a new plan.

And even when the US do start well, the advantages tend to dissipate when it's time for managers to make moves. Berhalter is often slow to make substitutions or major strategic adjustments, and the US create almost no danger later in matches.

Take these disappointing road matches during qualification.

• At El Salvador (0-0, D): The US attempted nine shots worth 1.12 xG in the first 50 minutes and four shots worth 0.58 in the last 40.

• At Panama (0-1, L): They attempted three shots worth 0.11 xG in the first 40 minutes and two worth 0.11 in the last 50. (Somehow the only thing worse than the start in this one was the finish.)

• At Jamaica (1-1, D): They attempted five shots worth 0.34 xG in the first half and four worth 0.14 in the second.

• At Costa Rica (0-2, L): They attempted 11 shots worth 0.59 xG in the first 50 minutes and four worth 0.18 in the last 40.

In three of these four matches, Berhalter made his first substitution in the 64th minute or later, despite the US having better depth and, therefore, better potential for strategic adjustments. He was as or more conservative with his subs in the World Cup -- of 19 total subs, only two came before the 65th minute, and six came in the 82nd minute or later. (This says nothing of his use of Reyna, who only played 52 minutes in the four matches. Recent revelations have shined a light on why he might not have played much, though I'm assuming everyone reading this will have a different opinion on whether or not those reasons are legitimate.)

Throughout the group stage, the team's effectiveness faded dramatically as matches progressed. In the first 60 minutes of each match, the US outscored opponents by a combined 2-0 and attempted shots worth 2.2 xG to opponents' 0.9.

But in the last 30 minutes, opponents scored the only goal and generated shots worth 2.2 xG to 0.4 for the US. Game state played a role in this -- the US was leading for all of the second half against Iran and for most of it against Wales -- but neither the strategy nor the substitutions helped.

Will the US look to Aaronson as an attacking threat and utilize his creative playing style in the next World Cup? Getty Images

Use the entire damn player pool: creatives edition

One thing Berhalter's detractors are happy to quickly mention to you is that, when he was the manager of Hammarby IF a decade ago, he was fired after his team scored just 34 in 30 matches in the Swedish second division. And over his last four seasons with the Columbus Crew in MLS, his team went from fourth in scoring, to ninth, to 13th, to 22nd (second-to-last).

Per 90 minutes, the US finished second in possessions starting in the attacking third, third in possessions ending in the attacking third and seventh in touches in the opponent's box. But they also ranked 14th in shot attempts and 23rd in both goals and xG generated. They just don't have a lot of ideas when they get the ball into dangerous areas.

We can accurately blame part of that on the lack of go-to talent at center-forward, but this is also a Berhalter trend, and he's got four years to figure out how to get more creative.

That could simply mean either getting some of your more creative players in better positions -- Brenden Aaronson is currently averaging 2.0 chances created per 90 minutes for a low-table Leeds United team in the Premier League but has averaged only 1.4 for the US over the last two years -- or getting other creatives in your player pool more involved, even if they don't precisely fit your definitions for a given position.

Obviously some of the most effective creative attackers in the player pool have long since moved to major clubs and are already playing major roles for the national team, but Berhalter has been open to integrating young MLS talent, and some of the most creative players in MLS are, predictably, American: Atlanta United's Brooks Lennon (second among MLS fullbacks in chances created and fifth in assists) and Montreal's Djordje Mihailovic (second in chances among central midfielders), to name two.

Mihailovic's success earned him promotion to the Eredivisie's AZ Alkmaar, which means that Matko Miljevic (21 and eligible for either the US or Argentina) could take on a heavier role in creation for Montreal after averaging 2.2 chances created per 90. Miami's Bryce Duke (21) is one of the better through-ball artists in MLS, as well. In the coming years, Berhalter should (and probably will) give extended looks to players like this.

If you're going to cross so much, maybe play good crossers?

A well-placed cross has been a devastating attacking tool for ages, but attempting too many aimless crosses is a calling card for an attack with no other ideas. This World Cup's four semifinalists -- Croatia, Argentina, France and Morocco -- have averaged 15.6 cross attempts per 90 minutes and have averaged a 29% completion rate on such crosses between them.

The US averaged 23.3 crosses (second most behind only Mexico) and completed an egregious 12%, worst of the 32 teams in the field. Left winger Christian Pulisic and left back Antonee Robinson attempted 52 crosses and found their target on just five of them (9.6%). Dest completed one of nine, Musah zero of eight. Only Timothy Weah (3-for-8) completed an acceptable percentage, but he didn't attempt many.

Once again, having a major target at center-forward can make a huge difference in this regard. But whether it's getting players like Lennon (34% cross completion rate in MLS this season), Mihailovic (37%), Miljevic (42%) or even 18-year old Jackson Hopkins (38% completion rate for DC United) more involved, positioning players better in attack or simply not crossing so damn much, this absolute dead zone needs to be addressed.

If you don't have a ton of natural goal scorers, manufacture goals through set pieces

For the competition overall, 28% of crosses on corner kicks were completed to a teammate; for the US, that percentage was 9.5%, third worst. Overall, the US were one of 15 teams to not score a goal from set pieces, and they only generated two shots on target from them in four matches -- both were both poorly hit shots from one single corner sequence against the Netherlands.

This was the continuation of a trend. The US scored three goals from set pieces in 14 World Cup qualification matches, which ranked fourth among eight CONCACAF teams, but all three goals came in one match against Honduras; they created almost no threat from set pieces in the other 13 matches.

Pulisic has been the top-choice corner taker for a while despite the fact that he has attempted one corner in two seasons with Chelsea. Reyna (0.56 chances per 90 from set pieces over the last two seasons with Borussia Dortmund) and Aaronson (0.30) are more proven in this regard.

But even beyond who is attempting the corners, set pieces have been a source of innovation and advantage for many clubs and countries in recent seasons, and the US need to rebuild their entire set piece program from the ground up.

Could Jordan Pefok work his way into a main role on the USMNT squad under Berhalter? Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Use the entire damn player pool: Bundesliga edition

Among Europe's major leagues, the average style of play in the Bundesliga has been closer to Berhalter's pressing and possession preferences than any other. That has made it rather maddening to see Berhalter continuously disregard German club players.

Borussia Monchengladbach's Joe Scally, 19, has been one of the brightest young fullbacks in the league for a season and a half now but has played a total of 166 minutes for Berhalter. He was on the World Cup roster but was behind a poor-performing Shaq Moore in the substitution pecking order.

Forward Jordan Pefok, 26, has been a major piece for the counter-attacking force that is Union Berlin and scored a key goal for the US in last summer's Nations League run. But his style doesn't specifically match what Berhalter is looking for from the position, and he has played 30 minutes for the national team in the last 15 months.

John Brooks was a center-back stalwart for both Wolfsburg and the US, but Berhalter wrote him off after a batch of poor form a year ago and never looked back. Julian Green combined creativity with goal-scoring while leading Greuther Furth to promotion in 2020-21 but never got a sniff from Berhalter; Green struggled once Furth were in the top division, but another Furth dual national, 23-year-old Timothy Tillman (Malik's older brother) played well. He has not been capped.

The moment has perhaps passed for Brooks (29) and Green (27), but one would have simply assumed that Scally and Pefok would have been more involved over the last year. Tillman, too. If you based your assumptions of league strength on Berhalter's selections, you would think that the Bundesliga ranked below both the Eredivisie and MLS.

This cannot continue if Berhalter is to get the most out of the player pool, especially considering how open German clubs have been to signing young Americans.

 

 

[tokamak 6464]

There's not serious discussion happening about keeping Berhalter, is there? Even before the Gio stuff blew up, I mean. I thought one WC cycle was pretty much the standard in international soccer, unless the team just massively overachieves or the coach is a legend or something.

We looked unimpressive throughout qualifying and warm-up friendlies, squeaked through an average group, and got stomped in the round of 16. That's pretty much the baseline or a small underachievement if you ask me. That same result in 2026 would be downright disappointing. Even setting aside anything with Gio, roster management, subs, tactics, etc - what possible reason would there be for keeping him on?

[alincoln 2385]

Just now, tokamak said:

There's not serious discussion happening about keeping Berhalter, is there? Even before the Gio stuff blew up, I mean. I thought one WC cycle was pretty much the standard in international soccer, unless the team just massively overachieves or the coach is a legend or something.

We looked unimpressive throughout qualifying and warm-up friendlies, squeaked through an average group, and got stomped in the round of 16. That's pretty much the baseline or a small underachievement if you ask me. That same result in 2026 would be downright disappointing. Even setting aside anything with Gio, roster management, subs, tactics, etc - what possible reason would there be for keeping him on?

From what I can tell, only from Berhalter's agent, his supporters in the media and those regurgitating what they are hearing from Berhalter's agent and supporters in the media.

[dieucla98 2942]

7 minutes ago, tokamak said:

There's not serious discussion happening about keeping Berhalter, is there? Even before the Gio stuff blew up, I mean. I thought one WC cycle was pretty much the standard in international soccer, unless the team just massively overachieves or the coach is a legend or something.

We looked unimpressive throughout qualifying and warm-up friendlies, squeaked through an average group, and got stomped in the round of 16. That's pretty much the baseline or a small underachievement if you ask me. That same result in 2026 would be downright disappointing. Even setting aside anything with Gio, roster management, subs, tactics, etc - what possible reason would there be for keeping him on?

We're the program that thought it was a good idea to hold off on hiring a new coach for 9 months and let an interim coach try to guide us through WCQ. This wasn't a situation where we were blindsided by a 4am arrest because said coach strangled a family member - no, we knew this firing was coming, we knew this coach was underperforming, we knew he was not a good culture fit, and even still, our best course of attack was to have an interim coach for 9 months???

I have zero faith this program will ever do the right thing for the USMNT - they are merely after doing what's best for them individually, much like FIFA in general. The same mindset for how we ended up in a shithole like Qatar in the first place is the same mindset that led us to Gregg and will keep us there.

[alincoln 2385]

The USMNT podcasters are suggesting that the USMNT coach budget is limited to $2 million annually because of institutional fixation on equal resource usage for the USMNT and the USWNT.  If true, this caps our candidate pool at the likes of Roberto Martinez.  

 

[Napoleon 8710]

2 hours ago, alincoln said:

The USMNT podcasters are suggesting that the USMNT coach budget is limited to $2 million annually because of institutional fixation on equal resource usage for the USMNT and the USWNT.  If true, this caps our candidate pool at the likes of Roberto Martinez.  

 

Equality can be a force for positive change. 

This is not one of those times. 

$2M can probably get the best coach in the Women’s game, but likely leaves you outside the Top 30 Men’s Coaches. This sucks. 
 

I’m a lefty libtard of the (2nd or 3rd) highest order, but this is just stupid. 

It may even be more stupid than paying Men & Women the same amount at the Tennis Grand Slams despite the men playing Best 3 out of 5 sets and women playing Best 2 out of 3 sets… when most of the money is raised from TV advertising… so the men bring in far more money.

🤬🤬🤬

[Ted Lange 16158]

Its some Podcaster "suggesting" it, not some stone cold fact.   I'd bet anything if there is a cap, its because USSF is cheap.