Will Berhalter be USA manager at 2026 World Cup?

DOHA, Qatar -- About 2 hours aft the last whistle blew and their World Cup ended, the players of the United States men's nationalist squad arrived backmost astatine the Kempinski Hotel successful Doha, their location for the erstwhile 3 weeks. They came done the backmost entranceway and went to their repast country arsenic a portion for 1 past time.

The postgame meals during the tourney were typically presented successful a food-hall style, with antithetic cuisines acceptable up astatine stations astir the ample ballroom, and this 1 was dense connected Americana. While the players dug successful connected wings, burgers and fries, US manager Gregg Berhalter stood up astatine the beforehand of the country and gave a abbreviated speech. He thanked the players and staff. He told them however arrogant helium was. Then helium asked everyone to instrumentality a infinitesimal and look around.

"This radical -- this nonstop group," helium said, "will ne'er beryllium unneurotic similar this again."

His connection was clear: Yes, determination volition beryllium different large moments successful the future, but not with this circumstantial postulation of people. Berhalter wanted everyone to admit that meaning of that moment.

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The players scattered wrong a time of the tourney ending for them, and their adjacent steps are reasonably wide arsenic nine shot resumes successful earnest astir immediately. For Berhalter, though, what comes adjacent is much murky. His declaration with US Soccer is up astatine the extremity of the year. Does the federation privation him to return? Does helium want to return?

Sources person told ESPN that negotiations are acceptable to statesman betwixt US Soccer and Berhalter, and determination are immoderate aboriginal indications that he'll enactment if offered. There's a sentiment that this squad was his task -- helium virtually brought respective of its cardinal players into the US Soccer fold -- and that seeing it retired to its earthy decision astatine the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, is appealing.

But 1 root acknowledged it's inactive precise aboriginal successful the process, and different sources person indicated that determination is an involvement connected Berhalter's portion successful exploring European nine options arsenic his coaching banal is apt astatine a high. That juxtaposition -- what Berhalter wants, and however it compares to what is champion for this squad of young, talented players -- is present the biggest question facing the federation.

Additional reporting by Kyle Bonagura.

The lawsuit for keeping Berhalter

From the position of some the federation and the mean USMNT fan, the imaginable for the American squad has ne'er been higher. Many of the apical players who featured successful Qatar volition beryllium successful what should beryllium the primes of their careers astatine the 2026 World Cup, and truthful uncovering a manager who is capable to bring retired the implicit champion from them successful that infinitesimal is the biggest qualification immoderate campaigner needs.

The information that determination is apt to beryllium nary World Cup qualifying -- and truthful fewer genuinely competitory games -- during this rhythm mightiness marque the occupation little attractive, and fixed Berhalter's established relationships with players, that could assistance support the momentum going.

The mode Berhalter led his squad astatine this World Cup surely supports the thought that helium knows however to unlock the champion of his players and motivate a young group. In Qatar, helium fixated connected doing immoderate helium could to marque everyone consciousness comfortable. Sometimes, it was done rhetoric: earlier the opening game, helium brought successful a fashionable motivational speaker, Eric Thomas, whose idiosyncratic communicative is astir the powerfulness of belief. Sometimes helium utilized much progressive measures to promote squad bonding: the players' lounge was filled with each mode of distractions, including a barber's seat for players to get their haircuts portion they hung out, and a barista who arrived each afternoon.

Berhalter besides made household clip a priority, knowing it would beryllium important to keeping his young players astatine ease. Even though this was the astir compressed a World Cup has ever been, with each 48 radical signifier games taking spot implicit 13 days, the US squad had hours of unfastened clip during which players could spell to the formation oregon excavation with their families. There was a barbecue and adjacent a Thanksgiving meal (at which disfigured sweaters that FOX had made with the faces of the players connected them were fixed retired to overmuch laughter).

Berhalter besides scored points with his squad by making a alteration that had ne'er been done before: postgame household time. Berhalter thought it was important players stock the postgame excitement with those who supported them the most, truthful aft each match, the autobus to the edifice was delayed -- sometimes for much than hr -- and everyone went up into the bare stands to beryllium with their loved ones.

At a emblematic game, the squad gets retired of the stadium and backmost to the edifice arsenic rapidly arsenic possible; astatine this tournament, it was sometimes astir 2 hours aft the lucifer earlier they'd get back, and the players appreciated being capable to stock those moments with their families.

All of that team-building, arsenic good arsenic the results helium has delivered, makes a beardown lawsuit for Berhalter. But the enactment for Berhalter coming backmost for a 2nd rhythm isn't cosmopolitan wrong the federation.

Some deliberation that, barring immoderate brainsick level of over-achievement, a manager shouldn't get a 2nd cycle. Bringing backmost a manager for a instrumentality engagement hasn't worked retired good successful the past, either. Neither Bob Bradley nor Jurgen Klinsmann lasted the afloat World Cup rhythm erstwhile brought backmost for different go-round, and portion Bruce Arena did past done a 2nd rhythm successful 2006, that tourney ended with the disappointment of a radical signifier exit. Then determination was Arena's 2nd tenure, replacing Klinsmann successful the effort to suffice for 2018, and evidently that went poorly, too.

There are besides questions astir Berhalter's decision-making successful presumption of his in-game adjustments and roster decisions. More than once, the US failed to physique connected a dominating opening play to enactment their stamp connected the crippled successful the 2nd half, and determination are just questions astir his subordinate usage/rotation, too.

Making the determination connected Berhalter's future

Shortly aft talking to the players that nighttime pursuing the nonaccomplishment to the Netherlands, Berhalter near the country wherever helium was watching the Argentina-Australia lucifer and considered his ain acquisition successful Qatar.

For months starring up to the tournament, helium told ESPN, helium and his coaches had laboriously gone implicit each azygous tactical script they could ideate for each radical signifier crippled -- up a extremity vs. Wales, down a antheral vs. Iran, and truthful on. The process had been exhausting, and Berhalter said helium was looking guardant to "decompressing" with his family.

When asked to measure his work, though, helium demurred "I don't deliberation it's clip for maine to measure my ain performance," helium said. "What I would accidental is that a measuring instrumentality is: Can Americans ticker what they saw and beryllium arrogant of it? Can they beryllium arrogant of the team? And a batch of the answers travel back: 'Yes.' So I'm arrogant of this group. I'm arrogant of however they stuck unneurotic and what they showed the extracurricular world."

That is surely 1 origin to consider, but determination are evidently others. Sources person told ESPN that the determination connected the whether to clasp Berhalter involves astatine slightest 5 people: USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone, USSF sporting manager Earnie Stewart, US men's nationalist squad wide manager Brian McBride, USSF committee of directors subordinate Juan Uro and USSF CEO JT Batson.

Stewart, a stalwart defender of Berhalter during this cycle, volition person the astir say, though immoderate prosecute indispensable yet beryllium approved by the committee of directors.

"As we ever bash aft a large tournament, we are taking clip to reflect," Stewart said successful a statement. "We volition behaviour a afloat reappraisal with everyone progressive arsenic we find our adjacent steps. We look guardant to gathering disconnected the show successful Qatar and preparing for the travel towards 2026."

There isn't needfully a unreserved to marque a decision, either, though determination are short-term considerations successful that determination is simply a January grooming campy scheduled that volition apt impact mostly US-based players and reason with games against Serbia and Colombia. While it wouldn't beryllium disastrous to person an interim caput manager successful charge, the federation would apt similar a solution sooner than later.

If Berhalter doesn't instrumentality either done his prime oregon that of the federation, determination would beryllium nary shortage of different candidates. The database apt begins with 2 managers who were considered past clip determination was an opening: Orlando City SC manager Oscar Pareja and erstwhile Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio. Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch is besides an evident target, though it would instrumentality immoderate doing to pry Marsch distant from the Premier League club.

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Herc Gomez feels Louis van Gaal tactically outmanaged Gregg Berhalter successful USA's exit from the Qatar World Cup astatine the past 16 stage.

As appealing arsenic those names mightiness be, it's besides evident Berhalter has built a coagulated basal of enactment for himself. He's viewed arsenic having a "great mentality" for uniting players from MLS and Europe, 1 root said, which is "a analyzable happening to woody with" fixed that it tin beryllium a root of friction successful the squad if not managed well. The players intelligibly respect him, too.

"He's done great. I deliberation the hardest happening arsenic a manager is to get everybody going successful the aforesaid direction," US defender DeAndre Yedlin told Fox Sports. "I deliberation he's done that precise well. He's gotten everybody bought into the culture, and that's the astir important thing. You perceive a batch of speech astir vibes with this team, and radical similar to gag astir it. But astatine the extremity of the day, I deliberation that could beryllium the team's biggest quality."

At a World Cup, wherever the expectations greatly outsize the illustration size connected which a manager is judged, Yedlin mightiness beryllium right.

At 1 constituent aboriginal successful the tournament, Berhalter was asked astir that world -- the conception that being an planetary manager means having comparatively fewer matches to beryllium your worth. He considered the question and nodded.

"That's what you signed up for," helium said. "It's the job, and the mode I look astatine it is arsenic an opportunity."

Time volition archer if helium gets different one.