Clint Dempsey criticizes U.S. Soccer over decision to reinstate Gregg Berhalter as head coach
It’s official USMNT fans. Gregg Berhalter has been announced as the head coach of the national team, first reported by The Athletic.
It’s official USMNT fans. Gregg Berhalter has been announced as the head coach of the national team, first reported by The Athletic.
There are plenty of interesting teams to watch at The Soccer Tournament, but one of the most star-studded is certainly Team Dempsey (although USMNT legend Clint Dempsey only serves as the head coach in flip-flops).
On Thursday, they began play at the 7-on-7 tournament with a starting lineup that had Luis Robles in goal (three USMNT caps), Jermaine Jones in midfield (69 USMNT caps), Eddie Johnson out wide (63 USMNT caps) and Chris Wondolowski up top (35 USMNT caps). Jaime Lozano (34 Mexico caps) was on the bench.
The hype is growing around The Soccer Tournament (TST) — brainchild of the folks behind the increasingly popular The Basketball Tournament (TBT) — but I don't think anyone's talking about it nearly enough.
On June 1, 32 teams will descend on WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC, for a four-day tournament with the winners taking home $1 million. It's certainly not your traditional soccer tournament with different rules, procedures and a collection of squads comprised of legends, professionals, up-and-coming talents, amateurs, viral street sensations and everyone in-between.
Tuesday's FIFA World Cup Tonight show put Clint Dempsey, Stu Holden, Maurice Edu and Chad Ochocinco Johnson on the spot by asking if Gregg Berhalter should be USMNT manager at the 2026 World Cup.
Berhalter's contract is over at the end of the year, but negotiations on an extension have begun between U.S. Soccer and the 49-year-old after the team reached the Round of 16 in Qatar.
The United States began its World Cup odyssey with a bittersweet 1-1 draw against Wales on Monday, and Gregg Berhalter's men return Friday against an England team that reaffirmed its status as a tournament favorite by hammering Iran 6-2 to go top of Group B after Match Day 1.
Given the success of TBT Enterprises' "The Basketball Tournament" — which has grown over 10 years to a 64-team tournament of global talent competing for $1 million on ESPN — it was only a matter of time before the event organizers turned their focus to accomplishing something similar with the world's game.
It’ll come as a surprise to many, but since the Premier League’s inaugural 1992-93 season, 22 American footballers have gone on to score in England's top division. Sure, only eight of them have managed more than two goals, but we’re also the only nation to have had two goalkeepers score in the EPL. There’s no surer sign of a country’s footballing might.
In the final international break before the World Cup, the USMNT faces an interesting set of matches against some infrequent opponents as Gregg Berhalter looks to formulate his final roster.
The international period begins on Sep. 22 with a friendly match against Japan at 8:25 a.m. ET in Düsseldorf, Germany. This is followed by a friendly against Saudi Arabia on Sep. 27 in Murcia, Spain.
One day shy of the fourth anniversary of Clint Dempsey announcing his retirement, the U.S. soccer icon accomplished a new feat in the sporting world. On Sunday, Dempsey recorded his first ever hole-in-one. As is legally required by the golf gods, the Deuce had to post about it online to brag to all his friends.
Christian Pulisic is no stranger to pressure.
He put the USMNT on his back as a teenager during the failed 2018 qualifying cycle, played in and won a German Cup final at 18, took on the burden of a $70 million price tag at Chelsea, played in and won a Champions League final there and has continued to handle the strain of being the national team's game-changer in the final third with incredible consistency, like Landon Donovan before him but without the emergence of a Clint Dempsey to work with.