United States National Football

On Thursday, U.S. Soccer announced the candidates for its Player of the Year award.

For the women, the finalists are forwards Alex Morgan, Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith and midfielders Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle. For the men, the finalists are forward Christian Pulisic, midfielder Tyler Adams, goalkeeper Matt Turner and defenders Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream.

Morgan, 33, has been nominated for the award seven times. Her past season was highlighted by an NWSL-leading 15 goals for the San Diego Wave.

Pugh, 24, is one of the USWNT's brightest young stars. She posted seven goals and seven assists for the team in the past year, to go along with 11 goals and six assists for the NWSL's Chicago Red Stars.

Smith, 22, led the USWNT this past season with 11 goals and was named the NWSL MVP after notching 14 goals. She was the youngest MVP in league history and helped lead Portland Thorns to a title.

Horan, 28, is the defending U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year award winner. She made 14 starts for the USWNT in the midfield and won the UEFA Women's Champions League with Olympique Lyon in club play.

Lavelle, 27, made 15 starts and 16 total appearances for the USWNT this past season, notching four goals and six assists. She also recorded five goals and an assist for the NWSL's Reign.

Pulisic, 24, has fallen in and out of favor at Chelsea but remains arguably the USMNT's most important and dynamic player. The three-time U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year award winner tied for a team-high five goals and had a team-high three assists this past year, which included a goal and and two assists at the World Cup.

Adams, 23, is the keystone of the USMNT and was named captain for this year's World Cup. The steady midfielder earned two Man of the Match distinctions in Qatar and has been a regular fixture on the club level for Leeds in the Premier League.

Turner, 28, ascended to the first-choice goalkeeper at this year's World Cup and finished the year with seven clean sheets. He serves as Aaron Ramsdale's backup at Arsenal on the club side.

Ream, 35, serves as the captain for club side Fulham and played every minute for the USMNT in Qatar as one of the team's most reliable players.

Robinson, 25, is Ream's teammate at Fulham and has staked his claim as the USMNT's first-choice left-back. He made 13 total appearances in World Cup qualifying and started all four matches in Qatar.

Gio Reyna has responded to a report from Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal of The Athletic that said the young Borussia Dortmund attacker showed an "alarming lack of effort in training" in the week before the World Cup.

Reyna released a statement Monday on Instagram in which he said he let his emotions affect his training and behavior after USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter told him he would play a limited role at the World Cup:

"Just before the World Cup, Coach Berhalter told me that my role at the tournament would be very limited. I was devastated. I am someone who plays with pride and passion. Soccer is my life, and I believe in my abilities. I fully expected and desperately wanted to contribute to the play of a talented group as we tried to make a statement at the World Cup.

"I am also a very emotional person, and I fully acknowledge that I let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days after learning about my limited role. I apologized to my teammates and coach for this, and I was told I was forgiven. Thereafter, I shook off my disappointment and gave everything I had on and off the field."

Reyna added that he was "disappointed that there is continuing coverage of this matter (as well as some highly fictionalized versions of events) and extremely surprised that anyone on the U.S. men's team staff would contribute to it," noting Berhalter had said in the past that team-related issues would remain "in house."

Berhalter alluded to the situation with Reyna at the HOW Institute for Society's Summit on Moral Leadership on Tuesday (h/t Kevin J. Delaney of CharterWorks), though he didn't name him:

"In this last World Cup, we had a player that was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field. One of 26 players, so it stood out. As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player. We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that's how extreme it was. And what it came down to was, we're going to have one more conversation with him, and part of the conversation was how we're going to behave from here out. There aren't going to be any more infractions.

"But the other thing we said to him was, you're going to have to apologize to the group, but it's going to have to say why you're apologizing. It's going to have to go deeper than just 'Guys, I'm sorry.' And I prepped the leadership group with this. I said, 'Okay, this guy's going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team.' And what was fantastic in this whole thing is that after he apologized, they stood up one by one and said, 'Listen, it hasn't been good enough, You haven't been meeting our expectations of a teammate and we want to see change.' They really took ownership of that process. And from that day on there were no issues with this player."

CharterWorks later said in an editor's note that Berhalter's comments "were not meant to be public, but were erroneously greenlit for publication by someone representing the event organizers."

Berhalter also said the meeting was supposed to be off the record and that "it's not really important" who the player in question was, per ESPN's Jeff Carlisle.

But further reporting indicated the player was Reyna.

It wasn't hard to suss out that Berhalter was speaking about the 20-year-old, one of the USMNT's brightest young talents but someone who played a surprisingly small role in the team's four games at the World Cup.

While it didn't come as a huge surprise that Reyna didn't start—the midfield trio of Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie was the strength of the team, and wingers Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah were its most dangerous attackers—the fact that he wasn't even a substitute in two games became a major storyline.

The team missed his creativity and passing while struggling to unlock deep defensive blocks, though he did play the entire second half in the USMNT's 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16.

That may have been an indication that all had been resolved. It remains to be seen if the airing of the dirty laundry, even if unintentional by Berhalter, creates a rift between the two men or between Reyna and the U.S. Soccer Federation.

United States men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter will "begin discussions on a new contract" with the U.S. Soccer Federation following his team's trip to the World Cup round of 16, according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.

Carlisle noted Berhalter has also shown interest in leading a European club, but the USSF is "prepared to begin talks" on a new deal.

The 49-year-old's current contract expires at the end of the year.

Berhalter was initially hired by the national team in December 2018, leading the squad to titles in the 2021 Gold Cup and 2020 Nations League. The team qualified for the World Cup after missing the event in 2018, advancing out of the group stage that also contained England, Wales and Iran.

Berhalter's experience with the national team also features 44 caps as a player, earning roster spots on the World Cup teams in both 2002 and 2006.

Despite his successes, the coach has faced significant criticism from fans over his roster selection and tactics, including during the 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in Saturday's knockout round.

Productive strikers Ricardo Pepi and Jordan Pefok were left off the roster, while promising attacker Giovani Reyna saw limited playing time during the tournament as the United States scored just three goals in four matches.

The squad also finished behind both Canada and Mexico in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, only beating Costa Rica for the final guaranteed spot on goal differential.

There will be significant pressure on whoever is leading the USMNT in the 2026 World Cup, with the country co-hosting the event alongside Mexico and Canada. The team is likely guaranteed a spot as a host, but expectations will be high to make a deep run with key players like Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie entering their prime.

Coaches leading the national team during a second cycle have also not fared well for the U.S. squad. Bruce Arena is the only U.S. coach to make the World Cup twice, but the 2006 team finished last in its group after advancing to the quarterfinal four years earlier. Jürgen Klinsmann was fired during qualifying of his second cycle as the squad failed to reach the 2018 World Cup.

Berhalter has a 37-11-12 record during his time with the national team, having also coached the Columbus Crew in the MLS and Hammarby in Sweden. His brother, Jay Berhalter, was the USSF's chief commercial officer when he was hired but has since left to become an executive VP at MLS.

Within 30 minutes of the defeat to the Netherlands on Saturday in Doha, Gregg Berhalter was asked by reporters if he intended to remain on as the U.S. men's national team coach. The 49-year-old said he’d have to think about it.

You can imagine the U.S. Soccer Federation will do some critical thinking too.

In his time with the national team, Berhalter has collected notable victories, including beating Mexico three times in a year, winning the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup in the same summer, qualifying for the World Cup after missing it in 2018 and making it out of the group.

The USMNT has a clear culture of positivity and brotherhood, cultivated in part by the man at the helm. He's also overseen a successful dual-national recruitment process, bringing promising talent such as Sergiño Dest and Yunus Musah to American shores while keeping the best interests of each player in mind.

Ultimately, though, a sound defeat to the Netherlands in the round of 16 is just good enough. A group stage exit would be seen as failure. A quarterfinals berth would be historic success. What this team did is set a foundation; it was just enough.

But the nation and the federation have higher hopes as they prepare to co-host the 2026 World Cup, and they'll need to accelerate progress and implement changes to achieve them.

In that pursuit, U.S. Soccer should look gratefully at the foundation Berhalter built and then find the best candidate to keep building. For Berhalter, returning to the club level—perhaps on foreign shores—might be preferred after a pressure-packed tenure as manager.

The foundation is set

The second-youngest team in the tournament has World Cup experience under their belt—and the bitter taste of defeat to drive them. They believed they could do more in Qatar. With four years to work toward redemption, this crew of youth will hit their prime on home soil after four years of developing at club level.

Ideally, the men plying their trade in Europe—Musah, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Christian Pulisic and company—will continue to grow their roles at the top level. They already have youth and accomplishments. As they add more experience, they'll be lethal.

The trend of young Americans who depart for competitive, European shores will continue. On arrival, they'll need to work tirelessly to play central roles in top leagues. The program would be wise to identify players who start to excel at that level and integrate them more quickly into the senior team.

Clubs like the Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas play no small role in developing young talent and getting them to Europe. They'll need to continue that contribution, and other clubs would be wise financially to join them. The benefits of developing talent and selling to Europe seem self-evident for a club, though many have yet to do so successfully.

A glaring issue as the World Cup wore on is that depth in the squad was too shallow. The drop-off in output from the first to the second half as starting players tired or were substituted became a core issue. But building on the talent pool who are proving themselves at the highest level solves that problem.

Success in 2026 will require the continued growth of young stars in Europe. It will also require younger prospects to break out at that level, adding confidence to this team's depth and rotation.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of a striker

The role of striker-savior in the 2026 World Cup is up for grabs. It remains among the USMNT's more elusive positions.

That hero might not be known yet. The hungry and hopeful are practicing for that position as we sit typing.

It could also be somebody already in the program. Jesús Ferreira is long out of form and happy at FC Dallas, but one wonders if he might grow his game abroad given the hunger acquired from this tournament. Josh Sargent and Haji Wright both had their moments in Qatar. Sargent did well against Iran before going off injured. Though Wright was imperfect, he did score one of the team's three goals. Both are doing well with their clubs and their careers still developing. Sargent will be just 26 and Wright 28 at the next World Cup.

Ricardo Pepi—spurned from the roster, now in form in the Netherlands—has a fire burning inside him. Pepi seems resolute in his intention to break back into the team. It will be a joy to track that progress. He'll be 23 when the World Cup comes to home soil.

Beyond the striker, the U.S. needs to create more chances, necessitating a style that encourages creativity. The next manager must identify creative talent and build around it.

Hope is in the future

Develop the talent, identify the talent, build creatively around them, find a striker. Sounds easy, right? That will be the work of the next four years.

Observe the progress, catalog the stories and find a way to convey them to the American public—that's the job of the pundits and writers.

The race is on, for all of us. We're looking at 2026 with hopes set high. And the main question is pending: Will we be ready?

United States men's national team manager Gregg Berhalter received a bevy of criticism for his decision-making in the USMNT's 3-1 loss to Netherlands on Saturday that knocked the Americans out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Berhalter opted to start Jesus Ferreira, who did not appear in the group stage, at the forward position with Josh Sargent unavailable due to an ankle injury suffered against Iran.

Ferreira only made it through one half of Saturday's loss and made little impact on the contest.

Berhalter replaced Ferreira with Gio Reyna at halftime. The Borussia Dortmund immediately brought a boost to the USMNT attack.

Berhalter was also criticized for the lack of attacking options to help the USMNT come back from deficits. Haji Wright scored off the bench but didn't manage to produce consistently.

The United States will likely have a guaranteed spot at the next World Cup in 2026 as hosts along with Canada and Mexico, and expectations will be high for whomever the coach is to get past this hurdle and deeper into the knockout rounds.

United States men's national soccer team star Christian Pulisic has been cleared to play in Saturday's round-of-16 match against the Netherlands at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Pulisic scored in the 38th minute of USMNT's 1-0 win over Iran on Tuesday, which clinched the squad's spot in the knockout stage. He slid into the goalkeeper on the goal and suffered a pelvic contusion.

While he finished the first half, he was substituted at the start of the second half and spent some time in the hospital before meeting up with his teammates at the team hotel to celebrate the win.

Pulisic is pushing to play against the Netherlands, saying Thursday he would do "everything in my power" to be in the starting lineup.

However, when speaking to ESPN's Sam Borden, he suggested he may not be healthy enough to go a full 90 minutes, saying he was working with the medical team to be able to go at "110 percent" for "however long I can be out on that field."

The 24-year-old is unquestionably the United States' top offensive player with 22 goals in 55 career appearances for the senior national team. The next closest on the team is Weston McKennie with nine goals.

Pulisic's goal against Iran was the biggest of his career and among the most important in the history of American men's soccer.

The United States missed out on qualifying for the World Cup four years ago, but it has advanced past the group stage in each of the past three World Cups they have qualified for and four of the past five.

Getting any further has been a challenge, though, as the Americans fell in the round of 16 in both 2010 and 2014.

The U.S. will truly have to earn a quarterfinals berth for the first time since 2002. The Dutch have never missed the knockout stage at a World Cup they qualified for, and they were the runners-up in 2010 and finished third in 2014.

They had two wins and a draw in the group stage, led by forward Cody Gakpo, who scored once in each of the group-stage matches.

Pulisic and the United States will look to upset the Netherlands when they clash at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.

United States men's national team star Christian Pulisic wanted to issue a clarification regarding the injury he suffered in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Iran in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

He told reporters Thursday he "didn’t get hit in the balls" in the process of scoring the winning goal.

Almost simultaneously as they celebrated the goal, fans applauded Pulisic for being willing to pay the physical cost of scoring.

The 24-year-old was subbed off before the second half with what U.S. Soccer originally called an abdominal injury. The federation confirmed later he suffered a pelvic contusion that left him day-to-day.

Pulisic's availability for Saturday's round-of-16 match against the Netherlands remains unclear.

"Just kind of seeing how I’m feeling, taking it day by day right now, but doing everything in my power to be able to be out there on the field on Saturday," he said during Wednesday's press conference.