Report: Gregg Berhalter out as USMNT head coach after Copa America exit

Following a failed run at the 2024 Copa America, the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) has reportedly made the decision to part ways with head coach Gregg Berhalter.

That news comes courtesy of a report from FOX Sports, citing multiple sources.

Berhalter exits with relatively scant production on the international stage after being hired in 2018. He certainly hasn’t produced the kind of resurgence with one of America’s most talented rosters that many envisioned when he was hired.

The USMNT enjoyed some brief success at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, winning one group stage game and drawing the other two to advance.

But the knockout stage proved unfavorable, with a matchup against the Netherlands culminating in a 3-1 defeat and an exit from the tournament. That the USMNT failed to leave the group stage in the Copa America, the next major tournament, only two years later, soured the relationship between US Soccer and Gregg Berhalter.

In all, Gregg Berhalter exits with a record of 44-15-13 with the USMNT. Relative to his predecessors, that’s a good enough mark on paper, but the lack of major tournament success was a killer.

The USMNT did enjoy some success, winning three straight CONCACAF Nations League titles. It also has fared well in recent years against arch-rival Mexico, something America can hang its hat on.

Still, the question was the ceiling and too often it appeared that the USMNT was under-performing its ceiling given the current crop of talent Berhalter and US Soccer have had to work with.

That starts with 25-year-old sensation Christian Pulisic, who recently became the fastest-ever American to reach 30 international goals. He’s got a chance to shatter the American record of 57, which is currently co-owned by Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey.

Of course, Pulisic will need some help, too. To that end, a talented supporting cast that features the likes of Timothy Weah, Giovanni Reyna, Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi, among others, must also step up.

It will no longer be Gregg Berhalter trying to unlock that combination of talent, though.