Following their elimination from the 2024 Copa America, US Soccer is announcing its plans for Gregg Berhalter in mid-July. There is considerable speculation surrounding Berhalter’s future. The capitulation on home soil in the Copa America was one of the worst moments in the recent history of the United States men’s national team. Now, fans have a timetable to expect a decision on US Soccer’s reaction.
During FOX’s coverage of the European Championship on Friday, July 5, the broadcaster revealed that US Soccer will announce the future of Berhalter with the USMNT sometime in the following week. This does not mean FOX is having a major program that will announce the decision on Berhalter akin to The Decision when Lebron James signed with the Miami Heat. Instead, it is a notification that fans can expect news quickly.
Jules Breach, the FOX host who announced the scheduling move, noted that US Soccer sacked USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski 11 days after the side exited the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Therefore, if the decision is to sack Berhalter, the timing is fairly consistent. That said, US Soccer would be different from other nations in how it goes about this type of decision. For example, Ecuador, a quarterfinalist at the Copa America, sacked Felix Sanchez the day after the side lost on penalties to Argentina.
It is worth noting that there are no guarantees US Soccer is firing Berhalter. All that fans know is that US Soccer is giving itself a timetable to move forward. There were several complaints that the hiring process after the 2022 World Cup dragged on far too long. The USMNT ended up sticking with Berhalter that time around after six months of an extensive process, as US Soccer called it.
If US Soccer is going to stick with Berhalter, it would have no reason to send out a message saying it will reveal a decision. The federation did say it is going through a review to see what went wrong with the Copa America this summer. In that regard, an announcement makes sense. US Soccer showed fans that it is trying to make a decision on its future, a task it must do promptly.
The previous hiring process took months. US Soccer cannot have that same level of patience this time around. The Copa America is in the past, and the onus now goes to the World Cup in 2026. If US Soccer spends more time putting off a new coaching search, it loses time preparing for that tournament. The World Cup starts in less than two years. Whichever coach is leading the side will face a mountain of pressure.
Who could that be? Again, it is anyone’s guess. Berhalter remains an option. His current contract with US Soccer runs through the 2026 World Cup. US Soccer could easily lean toward staying with Berhalter to avoid a contract buyout. However, if it does look elsewhere, there are familiar options. Jesse Marsch at Canada looks like someone who wants to take on that responsibility. Likewise, Thierry Henry has been linked to the job in the past.
Yet, if one asked a USMNT supporter who it would want right now, the consensus is likely Jürgen Klopp. The German is no longer the manager of Liverpool. He has said in the past he wants to coach a national team. If US Soccer can swoop in for Klopp, there would be an identity to the way the side plays.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
