Calls are growing for U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter to be fired after losing to Panama in this summer’s Copa America.
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U.S. Soccer has fired Gregg Berhalter as head coach of the U.S. men’s national soccer team, the federation announced Wednesday.
Berhalter’s sacking follows a disappointing performance by the men’s national team at this summer’s Copa America, the country’s last major international event before co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The move triggers a major shakeup for the U.S. national team amid ambitions for the next World Cup. Now, with less than two years until the tournament kicks off, U.S. Soccer and its future men’s head coaches face the daunting challenge of preparing a team capable of performing to expectations at the world’s biggest sporting event. .
“I want to thank Greg for his hard work and dedication to U.S. Soccer and the men’s national team,” said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone, adding that federal officials will now work to “find the right fit.” selected to lead the U.S. National Soccer Team into a new era of on-field success.
The U.S. men’s national team has long struggled on the world stage. The best result in the modern men’s World Cup was reaching the quarter-finals in 2002.
But with the United States set to co-host the tournament with Canada and Mexico in 2026, expectations are high for Berhalter to lead the U.S. to a quarterfinal tie or better. This summer’s Copa America is seen as his side’s last major chance to gain high-level international experience before 2026, with the 11th-placed United States widely expected to reach at least the quarter-finals if not the semi-finals. One final.
Instead, Team USA was eliminated in the group stage. The team only managed a win against underdog Bolivia, ranked No. 84 internationally, before losing to No. 43 Panama in part because of an uncharacteristic red card for winger Tim Weah early in the game that forced the U.S. into the game. The game was shorthanded for much of the game. Then, on July 1, the United States lost again to the 14th-ranked Uruguay team.
“We are very disappointed with the result. We knew we were capable of doing more. And in this game we didn’t show it. It’s as simple as that,” Berhalter told a news conference immediately after the defeat. to Uruguay.
When asked if he was still the right man to lead the team into the 2026 World Cup, Berhalter gave a simple one-word answer: “Yes.”
Then-USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter applauds fans after his team’s loss to the Netherlands at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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But as time went on, calls for Berhalter to be fired as coach grew louder, including former U.S. national team stars such as Clint Dempsey, who said after the game that Berhalter had “wasted” the current generation. players. The U.S. Outlaws, an organized fan group of national soccer supporters in the United States, wrote in a statement that the U.S. allowed Berhalter to continue as coach and “cannot pass up this incredible opportunity to have a lasting impact on soccer in this country.” “Through the World Cup.
His firing ended Berhalter’s shaky tenure. He was named team captain after the United States failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He helped the team rebuild the team with young new players and led the team to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The team entered the knockout rounds but was defeated by the Netherlands in the round of 16.
Berhalter’s original contract expired that year. Shortly after the team’s World Cup defeat, U.S. Soccer began investigating Berhalter after domestic violence allegations surfaced involving a 1991 incident between Berhalter and the woman who would become his wife. outside a bar in North Carolina where both men were at the bar.
It was later revealed that the allegation came from the parents of Gio Reyna, a promising USMNT player who rarely played during the Qatar tournament. Reyna’s parents — former U.S. national team star Claudio Reyna and women’s national team member Danielle Reyna — have long been friends with the Berhalters.
Months after the investigation began, U.S. Soccer cleared Berhalter and he was eventually reappointed as coach. As the team’s head coach, he compiled a 44-17-13 record in 74 games.
Calls for him to step down have increased again after the U.S. national team suffered an early exit from this month’s America’s Cup tournament, the first to be held in the United States.
U.S. Soccer is “committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure we are successful on the field and committed to fostering a winning culture,” U.S. Soccer said in a statement, adding that the search for a new coach has begun.
Speculation as to who could be the team’s next head coach includes outgoing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Canadian national team coach Jesse Marsh and Los Angeles FC head coach Steve Cerundo Luo et al.
