The U.S. Soccer Federation is expected to make a decision about the future of men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter by the middle of next week, multiple sources told FOX Sports.
Berhalter’s USMNT became the first Copa América host not to advance to the tournament’s knockout stage when they lost to Uruguay on Monday in Kansas City. That first-round defeat came on the heels of another, to Panama, preventing the Americans from advancing from group play in their last major international competition before the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with North American neighbors Canada and Mexico.
U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker issued a statement after the loss to La Celeste, saying the organization would conduct “a comprehensive review of our performance in Copa América and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup.
“Our tournament performance fell short of our expectations,” the statement read. “We must do better.”
Berhalter led the Americans back to the World Cup stage following the program’s epic failure to qualify for the 2018 event. The U.S. reached the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but fell 3-1 to the Netherlands. Crocker rehired Berhalter for a second World Cup cycle last June.
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But the USMNT’s performances and results have been inconsistent since Berhalter returned to the sidelines last September, culminating with the Americans’ embarrassing first-round elimination at this summer’s Copa América. On Wednesday, the American Outlaws supporters group called for Berhalter to be replaced. “It’s time to make a change in the head coaching position,” they said in a social media post.
The pressure has called the 50-year-old former Columbus Crew boss’s future as U.S. coach into question. It sounds like that doubt will be cleared up soon.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports who has covered the United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him at @ByDougMcIntyre.
