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Hello! Gregg Berhalter’s job was hanging by a thread. U.S. Soccer has cut the string.
Plus: Sparkling Watkins fires England into Euros final, and an ugly brawl between players and fans at the Copa America.
Berhalter Sacked: U.S. Soccer searching for a ‘serial winner’
And so, last night, it transpired U.S. Soccer could see what the rest of us were seeing.
Gregg Berhalter is out, sacked as USMNT head coach after a short and sharp review of their Copa America car crash. Nine days was all it took for group-stage elimination to manifest itself in Berhalter’s dismissal. And we shouldn’t pull any punches: it had to happen.
U.S. Soccer invested deeply in Berhalter. It appointed him in 2018 and gave him a World Cup to go at. It backed him in the aftermath of the Gio Reyna debacle. But a flop of a Copa — with the team exiting in the group stage — posed an unavoidable question: where was the faith in him taking them?
The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio was in a group of journalists who spoke with U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker after Berhalter’s sacking yesterday. Bear in mind it was Crocker who stood by Berhalter last summer. This is what he had to say:
- “There has been progress made, but now is the time to turn progress into winning.”
- “I want to get the best coach possible, whether they’re from the U.S. or elsewhere. We’re looking for a serial-winning coach.”
- “I’m a lot more confident in exactly what we need now.”
Berhalter, according to Crocker, failed to hit “clear benchmarks” at the Copa. No argument there. But the choice of successor is on him, and it’s critical — unless World Cup 2026 is to be a wash-out for the co-hosts too.
Who are the candidates?
I thought this comment from ex-USWMT player Carli Lloyd — in an interview published prior to Berhalter’s exit — was spot on: “Maybe there needs to be some ruffling of feathers and a little tough love.”
At times, the U.S. camp can appear too cosy. It’s something for Crocker to think about.
International coaches don’t have to be the best of the best. They usually aren’t (and that’s a reason why, despite Jurgen Klopp flirting with the U.S. on Instagram last week, USMNT fans shouldn’t hold their breath to the point of bursting).
But Berhalter fell well below the bar and U.S. Soccer should be in the market for someone more elite. It didn’t work to any great extent with Jurgen Klinsmann but at least in that instance, the powers that be thought outside the box. Time to be bold.
Watkins in dreamland: A special strike as subs combine
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside town on the south-west coast of England, a mile off the Premier League’s beaten track, and Ollie Watkins tipped up there 10 years ago, a teenage striker chasing a fragile dream.
Watkins is a climber. Joining Weston-super-Mare took him down to non-League but from there he embarked on a gradual trek up the English pyramid: League Two, League One, the Championship, the big time. And last night he gave England their ticket to the final of Euro 2024; one chink of light, one chance, one memory for life.
His winner against the Netherlands, a 90th-minute bolt from the blue, is worth deconstructing because it comprised on-point centre-forward play. Without reigniting the Harry Kane debate, Watkins gave England what their captain doesn’t: the burst in behind, asking a question of Stefan de Vrij and creating a passing lane for Cole Palmer.
Watkins’ first touch was clever, opening the shooting angle. The strike across Bart Verbruggen was lush. Watkins does this for Aston Villa, and top marks for foresight too. He told Palmer beforehand that they would come off the bench and conjure some magic between them.
England have found a constant source of salvation at these Euros: Jude Bellingham’s overhead kick, the narrow escape against Switzerland, a cheap penalty in Dortmund last night, and Watkins at the death. Without misjudging Spain or downplaying the difficulty of Sunday’s final, it’s name-on-cup stuff.
Was it a penalty?
The debate raged about the penalty awarded to England as they trailed 1-0 to Xavi Simons’ early rocket.
It was soft, to say the least: Kane kicking the outstretched foot of Denzel Dumfries as he whacked a volley over the crossbar, then making very sure the referee noticed the contact. Play on — or so we all thought.
VAR, in fairness, has had a good tournament. And as Seb Stafford-Bloor explains, the rules governing straight-leg tackles with studs up technically justified the decision.
Southgate, in any case, deserved the break. His much-criticised team underwent a personality transplant. His late substitutions — Watkins and Palmer — were on the money. His record is two Euros finals, one World Cup semi-final and one World Cup quarter-final.
Sometimes he looks like a coach who is muddling through but his team are forever on the cusp. Is this the one?
Copa Brawl: Uruguay players confront fans after semi-final defeat to Colombia
Tactical fouls at the Copa are one thing — who doesn’t like a slice of dark arts? — but Colombia versus Uruguay got badly out of hand in Charlotte last night.
There were scuffles on the pitch after Colombia’s semi-final win and nastier scenes as several Uruguay players, Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez included, clashed with Colombian fans in the stands.
It got crazy in the semis!! Right in my section! Hope everybody is ok pic.twitter.com/oyDQM0d9Ik
— Lloyd sam (@MrLloydSam) July 11, 2024
Relatives of the Uruguayan squad were seated among the Colombian contingent. Fighting broke out as the players went to see them at full-time and objects were thrown (social media footage showed the ugly scenes up close and TV images appeared to catch Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur launching a bottle into the ruckus). “It’s a total disaster,” said Uruguay captain Jose Maria Gimenez.
Mathías Viña con su beba en brazos. Los jugadores de Uruguay tuvieron su reacción al ver que sus familias en las tribunas estaban rodeadas de hinchas rivales, los que ya habían tenido cruces en el partido pic.twitter.com/eaOuNfKlq4
— Sebastián Amaya (@sebaamaya) July 11, 2024
The mayhem should spark an urgent investigation, not least because Saturday’s third-place playoff is supposed to be held at the same venue, the Bank of America Stadium. Neither the Copa nor the Euros are earning gold stars for security standards this summer.
Football-wise, Uruguay missed a trick. Colombia were 1-0 up when they lost Daniel Munoz to a first-half red card but Marcelo Bielsa’s brains could not pick them apart. Nonetheless, Colombia have earned a shot at a first Copa title for 23 years. They’ve been on a mission, and James ‘six assists’ Rodriguez is on fire.
We’ve got a bonus narrative too. Uruguay versus Canada on Saturday is Bielsa versus Jesse Marsch: a coach who Leeds United adored against the Bielsa replacement they could not warm to. Third-place playoffs are broadly pointless (and they don’t bother at the Euros). This one has some spice.