Everyone on the planet that watched the US Men’s National Team for the past four years has something to say about Gregg Berhalter and his plans for the future. At the moment it seems like the US Soccer Federation is weighing a contract extension and Gregg Berhalter himself seems to be weighing the pros and cons of coaching club football again.
I’d like to take a holistic view of his time with the USMNT and make the case for and against Gregg Berhalter staying for another 4 years using the head and the heart.
Here is what someone in the STAY camp would say:
Gregg Berhalter joined the squad at a critical inflection point of US Soccer. The team had just missed qualification and had a huge gulf in talent between veterans and young prospects. Gregg built a foundation from scratch that provided a safe environment for young players to thrive.
Berhalter built a true team and spent immense levels of effort to ensure players felt connected and comfortable. This team environment helped bring in a new era of talent and made ways for new leaders to emerge.
While developing this talent base for the future, Gregg won every single domestic competition his teams competed in. Under Gregg Berhalter the USMNT won the first ever CONCACAF Nations League over rivals Mexico and won the Gold Cup with a mostly secondary squad in the same summer - again over rivals Mexico. Gregg has reinstated the USMNT as the premier nation in CONCACAF by consistently beating Mexico in major competitions including World Cup Qualifying.
In big games, Berhalter had his teams show up. He was able to motivate his players in order to squeeze the most out of the talent at the right times. Speaking of results, Berhalter lead the US back to the World Cup and his team was the only CONCACAF nation to make it out of the group stage. Based on FIFA rankings, the US was in the most competitive group in the 2022 World Cup.
On the world stage against the best teams in the world, the US were objectively the aggressors in most matches. Never in our history have we gone toe-to-toe in terms of technical ability and possession against the best nations on earth. Outside of the USA, the USMNT has garnered levels of respect that haven’t been reached in our history. Throughout the World Cup, international media praised Berhalter’s tactics and team spirit. JJ Bull of TIFO said the US was “the most tactically interesting team at the World Cup.”
Berhalter guided one of the youngest teams at the World Cup to a 14th place finish. The USMNT were the 14th highest ranked team at the World Cup.
If the goal was to change the way the world sees US Soccer, Gregg has accomplished that mission. If we’re asking if he changed the way Americans see US Soccer, I’ll concede we may have a different answer.
Outside of being the winningest coach in USMNT history above legends like Bruce Arena, Bob Bradley, and Steve Sampson, Berhalter has done an incredible job of recruiting dual nationals.
While Antonee Robinson was pretty much locked into choosing the US over England, Gregg later secured the futures of Sergino Dest and Yunus Musah. It is not a coincidence that those three players were critical pieces of our World Cup performances.
Ricardo Pepi had a choice between Mexico and the US, and chose the US because of the environment Gregg helped define.
In closing, Gregg Berhalter is not only the winningest coach in USMNT history, but has won trophies playing possession based soccer, and created an environment that has secured the future decade of US Soccer. He deserves to continue with this team and improve alongside the squad going into 2026.
Now let’s hear from those wanting Gregg to leave:
Gregg Berhalter needs to leave the USMNT so the program can grow beyond him. For all the great things he has given to this team, his faults have caused us to take two steps back for every step taken.
Berhalter has overseen the greatest generation of talent the US has ever produced to results that have met but not exceeded expectations. The USSF has plenty of resources to find the absolute best manager possible for 2026. Hosting the next World Cup is an opportunity to launch soccer in America to the next level, and we can’t trust Berhalter with that opportunity.
Gregg’s tactics lead to disappointment after disappointment. A 3rd place finish in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying is an absolutely abysmal result and we lost a few games that completely killed the passion fans have for this team.
The 1-0 loss to Panama in Panama City or the 2-0 loss to Canada in Hamilton, Ontario are two of the worst memories I have since following this team. To add insult to injury, after those performances Berhalter made comments that the US had “dominated” play, clearly marking himself as out of his element and out-coached.
It's Called Soccer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Gregg Berhalter as manager of the USMNT represents the program, and he treats fans and media that are critical of him with disdain. His press conferences after poor results are filled with two things - softball questions that make it easy for Gregg to dance around a difficult answer, or a critical question that is met with arrogance and contempt.
Is that the type of manager we want leading a young and extremely likeable team? I really don’t think so. We need a manager that will build this team to use the best qualities of their talent and diversity, as well as a human that represents the program in a way that can sell this team to the nation.
Gregg has been completely out-coached in major tournaments only to be saved by his players and last minute heroics. The USMNT needed a last minute winner from Jordan Pefok against Honduras AT HOME to get to the final of the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League.
Not only do his tactics leave us all wanting, but his roster building is absolutely atrocious. For any growth that we’ve seen in other areas from Berhalter, his rosters always have multiple major gaffes.
Leaving Jordan Pefok and Ricardo Pepi off the World Cup roster in favor of Jordan Morris, Christian Roldan, and Aaron Long will forever haunt us. This wasn’t a new phenomenon in 2022… Gregg famously brought Jonathan Lewis to the 2021 Gold Cup and STARTED HIM in the first match.
Each roster for World Cup Qualifying was poorly constructed and lead to some of the major negative results in the competition. It also has to be said that Gregg’s personal grudges with a few great players ultimately lead to less talent available for the team.
Nobody will ever know what happened between Gregg Berhalter and John Brooks, but leaving off a Champions League CB when that position is particularly thin is unforgivable.
I will concede the USMNT have had some good moments with Berhalter at the helm, but there are some sins that absolutely stand in the way of us moving forward with him at the helm. I thank him for his service and wish him the best.
This was a fair and balanced assessment. But, I think that Berhalter needs to be replaced, for all the reasons that you stated, Jake.
Great post!