NEW YORK – Clint Dempsey thinks the U.S. Soccer Federation hurt the men’s national team by delaying its decision on a coach leading up to the 2026 World Cup.
Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired Dec. 31 and the USSF appointed Anthony Hudson as interim coach while it investigated a decades-old domestic violence allegation against Berhalter. An outside law firm said in March there was no impediment to retaining Berhalter, but British executive Matt Crocker was hired in April as sporting director and said he likely will take until the end of summer to decide on a coach. In the meantime, Hudson quit and B.J. Callaghan took over as the second interim U.S. leader.
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“I think that they need to hurry up and make that decision because we’re running out of time,” Dempsey, a former American forward and now a CBS broadcaster, said ahead of Thursday’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Mexico in Las Vegas. “I think we took too long in terms of appointing our sporting director and we’re taking a little bit too long in terms of appointing our manager, because time is of the essence.”
Since returning to the World Cup in 1990 after a 40-year absence, the U.S. has won just one knockout game, against Mexico in 2002. With the expansion of the tournament to 48 nations, the Americans figure to be among 12 seeded teams — meaning they won’t face a top-nine nation in the group phase. Reaching the new round of 32 and winning at least a pair of knockout games figures to be the minimum required to consider the tournament a success.
Crocker hasn’t publicly identified who is under consideration. If he decides on an American other than Berhalter, former Leeds manager Jesse Marsch could be a contender.
“This team I think proved a lot of doubters wrong, that they do have the potential, they do have the quality to eventually be challenging for a semifinal spot in the World Cup,” former American forward Charlie Davies said. “I want the national team coach, whoever it may be, to be able to build off of what has already been built. The foundation is there.”
Dempsey and Davis will be analysts for CBS’s Nations League coverage, joined by retired midfielder Maurice Edu. The game against Mexico and Sunday’s meeting with Canada or Panama in the final or third-place game will be streamed on Paramount+ and the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Berhalter was replaced by Hudson on an interim basis while the USSF investigated the domestic violence accusation brought to the federation's attention by the family of Gio Reyna, which was angered over his lack of playing time in Qatar. Nearly sent home from Qatar by Berhalter for lack of hustle in training, Reyna returned to the national team and started a pair of March matches.
Edu faulted Gio’s parents, former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna and women’s player Danielle Egan.
“Gio’s already played with this group since the World Cup,” Edu said. “I don’t know if he’s earned his trust of his teammates yet. We’re on the outside looking in, right, so we can only just make assumptions. The best way that you go about kind of combating a situation like that and making amends from that is your performance on the pitch. If Gio comes into camp and he’s a team-first type player, he’s doing all the things that you would want out of a teammate and then ultimately on game day he’s out there performing, I think it makes it easier to kind of mend that wound.”
Because of the Nations League, the CONCACAF Gold Cup was pushed back to a start later in June and most top Europe-based players will skip the regional championship for vacation and preseason training with their clubs. The U.S. gets an automatic World Cup berth as co-host, making Nations League and next summer’s Copa América the only competitive national team matches with the primary player pool.
“When you get to the knockout rounds, when you get to the big games, who’s going to be the manager and who are going to be the players that step up to do something special?” Dempsey said. “I’m excited to see what’s going to happen. But it all starts with CONCACAF Nations League games, in my opinion, because that’s what got everybody believing and got them on that wave of how they built towards the last World Cup.”
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