Gregg Berhalter set to return as USMNT coach: Sources

Gregg Berhalter is set to return as coach of the U.S. men’s national team.

The coach who led the U.S. through the last cycle and to the round of 16 in November’s FIFA World Cup is in negotiations to return as manager, multiple sources involved in or briefed on negotiations told The Athletic. Those sources were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the talks. The deal is still being finalized, but Berhalter’s return is imminent.

An announcement of the hire is expected to come on Tuesday, but Berhalter is not expected to coach the U.S. in the Nations League final against Canada on Sunday. It is not known whether he would take over the USMNT officially before the start of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 24.

As the U.S. coach from 2019-22, Berhalter won the 2021 Nations League and Gold Cup trophies, qualified for the 2022 World Cup with the youngest team in the world and then got out of the group at the World Cup with strong performances against Wales, Iran and England. The Americans’ five points were tied with the 2010 team for most in a group stage by any USMNT at a World Cup. 

Berhalter, 49, currently has the highest win percentage of any USMNT coach with a 37-11-12 record.

Berhalter’s return will come as a surprise to some considering the circumstances of his departure. While the U.S. performance in Qatar was largely praised and the U.S. was successful in his tenure despite fielding one of the youngest teams in the world, Berhalter’s contract was allowed to expire after the World Cup in part because of issues with one of the team’s young stars. 

Winger Gio Reyna was nearly sent home from the World Cup due to his behavior after being informed he would not be a starter for the U.S. team in the opening game against Wales. Reyna’s lack of effort in subsequent training sessions nearly led to his dismissal from the team, but Berhalter opted to keep Reyna in Qatar.

After the tournament, however, he spoke about those issues without naming Reyna during the Q&A portion of a leadership conference that was operating under Chatham House rules, which typically meant any comments were off the record. Those comments were published, however, and The Athletic reported that Reyna was the player about whom Berhalter spoke.

After those stories, Reyna’s parents, former U.S. national players Claudio and Danielle Reyna, longtime friends of Berhalter and his wife, Rosalind Berhalter, reported to former U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart an incident from 30 years prior in which Berhalter kicked Rosalind during an argument when the two were freshmen at the University of North Carolina.

That prompted a U.S. Soccer investigation. The independent investigation eventually found that Berhalter was cleared to be re-hired by U.S. Soccer.

The U.S. played an aggressive, attractive brand of soccer under Berhalter in Qatar. The U.S. ranked eighth in field tilt in Qatar, behind teams like England, France and…