7:51 PM ET
Sam BordenESPN Senior Writer
- Sam Borden is simply a elder writer for ESPN.com.
DOHA, Qatar -- On Monday, United States men's nationalist squad manager Gregg Berhalter was asked to be, among different things, an economist, a customs agent, an adept connected subject argumentation and a United Nations ambassador.
On Tuesday, helium yet got to beryllium what helium astir wanted: A manager who's taken his squad to the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
After the USA held disconnected Iran, 1-0, astatine Al Thumama Stadium, Berhalter grabbed his coaching unit successful a radical carnivore hug successful the method area, their arms wrapped tightly astir each others' shoulders arsenic they bounced up and down. He past jogged retired connected to the tract to bask successful the solemnisation with his players and the raucous contingent of American fans down the goal.
Four years aft taking implicit a programme successful disarray, Berhalter had brought the US done successful what is, by immoderate distance, the biggest triumph of his career.
"It's the archetypal clip successful 92 years that we've had 2 shutouts astatine a World Cup," Berhalter said later, his look flushed. "So, the boys are doing thing right."
It was a singular 24 hours for Berhalter, the benignant of unthinkable juxtaposition that tin beryllium lone successful planetary shot -- and lone with a matchup similar the 1 the US had against Iran, a state whose history, some connected its ain and with the United States, is heavy and analyzable and messy.
That past is what fueled the build-up. U.S. Soccer played nary tiny portion successful the uncomfortableness up of the game, arsenic the federation -- without the cognition of Berhalter oregon his players -- posted images to societal media that showed Iran's emblem without the Islamic Republic logo successful an effort to amusement enactment for women successful Iran who are warring for the astir basal quality rights.
Well-intentioned arsenic it whitethorn person been, it nevertheless created a firestorm, and Berhalter was near to effort and navigate it. At his quality league connected Monday, Iranian journalists volleyed harsh questions astatine him, asking him to explicate wherefore ostentation mightiness lend to a deficiency of popularity for his squad backmost location oregon to warrant the assorted visa requirements that the United States has for Iranians who mightiness privation to question there. There was a question astir U.S. warships successful the region.
It was, by immoderate measure, bizarre, but Berhalter -- to his recognition -- handled it deftly. He apologized for immoderate discourtesy the societal media posts mightiness person caused portion expressing enactment for those who are warring for a amended life. He besides did his champion to propulsion the absorption backmost to soccer. In galore ways, this lucifer was judgement time for Berhalter and his players astatine the extremity of a four-year resurrection, and Berhalter needed to bash immoderate helium could to marque definite his players were up for it.
1:43
Steve Nicol and Craig Burley preview the United States' circular of 16 necktie against the Netherlands successful the World Cup.
In short, they were. Castigating Berhalter is simply a spot of a cottage manufacture successful the circles of those who travel the US squad intimately -- specified is beingness arsenic an planetary manager, truly -- but this overmuch is sure: Berhalter has won a Gold Cup and a Nations League. He's beaten Mexico 3 times (including successful World Cup qualifying). He's overseen a implicit roster overhaul of young and talented planetary players, made pugnacious -- and successful immoderate cases stunning -- choices astir who to bring to Qatar and has present led that squad to the Round of 16 successful the World Cup.
Is helium perfect? He's not. There are inactive tenable criticisms to beryllium made of his tactics oregon substitution patterns, but guardant Joshua Sargent was called backmost successful and delivered a beardown show against Iran, arsenic did defender Cameron Carter-Vickers (who came successful for Walker Zimmerman). Tim Ream, a astonishing precocious adhd to the roster conscionable earlier the World Cup, was stout successful defence arsenic well. However stressful it mightiness person been, the USA was capable to spot retired its pb late.
Even more, Berhalter motivated his players, pushing them to conscionable the moment. Berhalter recalled earlier successful the week however he'd watched the US suffer to Iran in the infamous 1998 World Cup meeting, and helium highlighted however what stood retired to him was the mismatch successful affectional levels connected the field. The Iranians wanted the crippled truthful badly, Berhalter said, and it was wide the Americans were obscurity adjacent the aforesaid benignant of feeling.
On Tuesday, that wasn't an issue. Not adjacent close. There was fire, sure. But besides a assurance that the infinitesimal wasn't excessively big.
"There was a calmness astir the team," Ream said. "No 1 was breathing dense oregon had panic successful their eyes."
It helped that that tactics were successful place, too. Christian Pulisic's extremity was a effect of a series that Ream said Berhalter and the coaches had specifically emphasized successful their scouting, a pulling of the play acold to 1 broadside successful bid to exposure the backmost station for Pulisic to attack. The extremity was, arsenic Ream said, "perfect, perfect, perfect," prevention for Pulisic's collision with the Iranian goalkeeper that sent Pulisic to the infirmary successful the mediate of the crippled for an abdominal scan.
1:34
Herculez Gomez says the USMNT's show was "pretty brilliant" aft they bushed Iran 1-0 to determination connected to the past 16 of the FIFA World Cup.
If Pulisic can't play against the Netherlands connected Saturday (or is limited), it volition beryllium different bump for Berhalter to navigate. He has options -- Giovanni Reyna inactive hasn't featured overmuch and Brenden Aaronson is simply a lively substitute -- but, either way, information for the radical volition beryllium important again.
That is what Berhalter wants. He has ne'er shied distant from the stakes of his mission. He has said, implicit and over, that this team's extremity is to alteration the cognition of American shot astir the world. The crippled against England helped that. So, too, did Tuesday.
Now comes different opportunity. Another chance. Berhalter volition endure the arrows; each coaches do. He volition enarthrosis the critiques. All helium cares astir is getting his players to spot what helium sees, to cognize what helium knows: That this squad tin bash anything. On Tuesday, aft the hugging and the shouting and the Facetime telephone to the infirmary truthful Pulisic could articulation successful connected the fun, Berhalter came to another, much accepted quality conference, and reflected connected what pleased him the astir astir the night.
"We believed successful ourselves," helium said. "We believed successful what we were doing."
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