While the process took more than a week, Gregg Berhalter is out as the manager of the USMNT.
The United States men’s national team will have a new manager leading them into the 2026 World Cup on home soil. According to Doug McIntyre of Fox Sports, U.S. Soccer made the decision to sack manager Gregg Berhalter just over one year after it announced that he would come back to lead the team following the expiration of his contract and a lengthy search for his replacement.
Gregg Berhalter will not continue as #USMNT coach, multiple sources tell @FOXSoccer:https://t.co/tPOZWgIGeI
Doug McIntyre (@ByDougMcIntyre) July 10, 2024
The decision was made after the USMNT flamed out of the group stage at Copa America, which was widely viewed as an opportunity to show that the team took a step forward following its elimination in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Back then, Berhalter led the team through a tricky group before falling to European power The Netherlands.
This time around, the Americans fumbled their final opportunity to make any sort of major statement in a competitive international tournament ahead of 2026. The team started off group play with a 2-0 win against Bolivia that was defined by their inability to finish off chances and run up the score, before a shambolic game against Panama in which standout winger Timothy Weah received an inexplicable red card 18 minutes in. While Folarin Balogun was able to put them ahead despite being a man down not long after, the U.S. almost immediately conceded, then spent the entire second half letting Panama have the ball before José Fajardo scored with about 10 minutes left in the game.
It put the team in a situation where they needed to beat South American juggernaut Uruguay, one of the favorites to win the entire tournament, and hope Panama did not obliterate Bolivia if they were to go through to the knockout stage. Try as they might, the Americans could not break down the resilient Uruguayan defense, and thanks to a controversial goal on a free kick, Uruguay was able to secure a 1-0 win that sent the United States home.
