He was raised alongside the U.S. men's national team. Now he's part of it.
MINNEAPOLIS — By almost every measure, Sebastian Berhalter is a newcomer to the U.S. men's national soccer team at this Concacaf Gold Cup. On June 1, he reported to his first training camp and, nine days later, debuted for Coach Mauricio Pochettino in the final tune-up.
In the pauses between practices, games and trips, the 24-year-old midfielder absorbs instruction from the coaching staff, bonds with other novices seeking to catch Pochettino's eye before the 2026 World Cup and gains the trust of the experienced corps.
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Boston Globe
42 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Less than a year away from hosting the World Cup, and the US looks far too much like the bickering Red Sox than a serious contender
This 2026 World Cup, which includes seven matches at Gillette Stadium — dubbed Boston Stadium for the tournament — represents the biggest moment for the careful choreography of soccer social climbing by the US since hosting the seminal 1994 World Cup. The American Dream was that the next time the US men hosted the World Cup they would be in a position to talk about lifting it. However, that looks risible. Advertisement Turmoil and disarray surround the program as the clock ticks closer to the first 48-team World Cup and American soccer's stress test. The US was reeling entering the CONCACAF Gold Cup this month, suffering four straight losses between the Nations League and friendlies. It marked the first time since the Dark Ages (1988) that the team dropped four consecutive matches on home soil. Advertisement However, the US can pick up some positive momentum with a strong showing in the ongoing Gold Cup. The Red, White, and Blue won their group (3-0-0) and face regional rival Costa Rica on Sunday in Minneapolis in the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament. But the Gold Cup field is as close to the World Cup field as Luke Kornet is to Bill Walton. And the squad the US is fielding feels more experimental than aspirational. After a long season with AC Milan, Christian Pulisic (middle) chose not to make himself available for the US men's national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Maurizio Lagana/Getty That decision brought Pulisic under fire from former US men's team players, including co-all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan. It's giving serious Rafael Devers-Craig Breslow vibes. In addition to Pulisic's absence, his AC Milan teammate Yunus Musah also asked out of the Gold Cup. Injuries to dynamic defender Sergiño Dest, striker Folarin Balogun, and left back Antonee Robinson robbed the roster of other top-flight talents. Plus, more starting-caliber players (Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, and Gio Reyna) missed this tour of US duty due to the odious and extraneous FIFA Club World Cup. Advertisement Although ranked 16th in the FIFA world rankings, the US is currently closer to northern neighbor Canada than global powerhouses Argentina, Spain, and France. After a 2-1 victory in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place match in March, Canada downed the US in consecutive matches for the first time since 1985. Jonathan David and Canada currently have a two-game winning streak against the US, the latest win coming in March in the third-place game of the CONCACAF Nations League. Michael Owens/Getty How's that for a 51st state? This hardly sounds like the stuff of a giant leap for the beautiful game in the US next year. Rather, it's the continuation of US soccer stagnation, a frustrating trend because the talent pool is better and deeper than ever. Long before America had Project 2025, we had The US advanced to the Round of 16 in 1994. Since then, they've been beyond that just once — advancing to the They delivered a perfunctory performance in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, reaching the Round of 16 despite only winning one match, 'We can show that we can hang with the best teams in the world, some of the best players in the world, and that's a lot of progress for US Soccer,' said team captain Tyler Adams. 'We're moving in the right direction for sure, but we need to keep pushing because we're not there yet, but we're close.' Advertisement They don't feel that close, although much can change in 11½ months in international soccer. Still, the US men struggle to live up to the lofty status of their female counterparts. They're Rosie the Riveting with the ball at their feet, playing an aesthetically appealing and successful brand of soccer (four World Cup wins). So, there's nothing intrinsic to our nation preventing soccer success. An ideal model for the US men would be another country wrapped in red, white, and blue, France. Marshalling their cultural and demographic diversity, Les Bleus are a top-five world team with a history of legendary players. That mantle handed to the magnetic Kylian Mbappé. The French didn't qualify for the World Cup the last time it was here. But since 1998, they've captured two World Cups and lost in the final twice on penalties, including to Argentina in 2022. If we can emulate their military parades, we should also be able to emulate their soccer program. The 2026 World Cup stands as a tremendous stepping stone for US soccer, but between now and kickoff, the US men's program has to stop finding stumbling blocks. Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Euro 2025: Norway's female soccer leaders blaze a trail for equality and progress
GENEVA (AP) — In the male-dominated world of soccer leadership, many of the trailblazing women have come from Norway. The Norway team at the Women's European Championship is captained by the first Women's Ballon d'Or winner, Ada Hegerberg, and led by a female federation president, Lise Klaveness, who is one of just three such leaders among the 55 UEFA member countries. Klaveness, who played for Norway's team that was runner-up at Euro 2005, sees a decades-long tradition of the federation being progressive, promoting women and speaking out at international meetings. Before her, there was Karen Espelund, the first woman to join UEFA's executive committee, and Ellen Wille, whose speech at a FIFA congress helped create the Women's World Cup. They all worked with Per Omdal, a long-time federation president who in 2022 was awarded one of Norway's highest civic honors to recognize his support for women's soccer. 'We are not perfect at all,' Klaveness told The Associated Press in a recent interview. 'Of course everything can be better, but I feel like I inherited something proud and value-based.' Captain Ada The captain of Norway's team at Euro 2025 in Switzerland — her squad will play in a group with the host, Finland and Iceland — fits perfectly into the national tradition. Hegerberg is a talented pioneer, winner of the first Ballon d'Or for women in 2018, and unafraid to have principles. The Lyon forward won the award in the second season of a five-year, self-imposed absence from the national team to protest a lack of equality for women from the federation. Even the award ceremony gave an unwanted opportunity for Hegerberg to show strong character and earn more admiration. Collecting the trophy on stage in Paris, she quickly shut down a French DJ's provocative comment about the sexualized dance twerking. In 2022, within weeks of Klaveness being elected, Hegerberg ended her exile. 'Ada already now sees she's part of something bigger … the connection in history,' Klaveness told the AP, describing the captain as 'a very beloved player.' World Cup origin story Hegerberg's exile meant missing the 2019 World Cup in France, the eighth edition of a tournament FIFA's all-male leadership finally launched in 1991. Wille's words at FIFA's annual meeting in 1986 were key to that progress. A member of the Norwegian federation's executive committee, her speech urging FIFA to do more for women's tournaments was a rare female contribution to any debate at its congress. Norway lost that first World Cup final to the United States but won the next title in 1995. UEFA pioneer At age 15 in 1976, Espelund was in the first wave of players when the Norwegian federation formally recognized women's soccer. She later played for the national team. In 2002, at a volatile FIFA congress, Espelund was a rare women in a leadership role as the federation's general secretary alongside president Omdal. Espelund took the platform to challenge FIFA's embattled then-president Sepp Blatter about its fragile finances ahead of him winning re-election. In 2011, with FIFA again in turmoil amid another controversial Blatter election and promises of governance reform, Espelund was appointed the first woman on the UEFA executive committee which she served for five years. Klaveness became the fourth in April. Inspiring role model Klaveness, a labor lawyer and judge, made an international impact in her first month as Norwegian federation president. At FIFA's congress in Qatar on the eve of the 2022 World Cup tournament draw Klaveness was alone in drawing attention to the host nation's treatment of migrant workers and criminalization of homosexual acts, and soccer's responsibility to acknowledge the issues. She later pushed the case at the Council of Europe for migrant workers' families to be compensated. Klaveness describes Omdal, a former UEFA vice president, as 'still my mentor' whom she sees each week. 'He really fought for a women's league in Norway and (to) have 50% (representation) on boards.' Now Klaveness is herself a role model for women in European soccer, including Norway's coach at Euro 2025, Gemma Grainger. 'I feel like Lise is a great example for me and for any female, to really stand by what she says,' Grainger told the AP. 'For her to stand up and talk so openly and fight for more than football is a true inspiration.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Christian Pulisic Breaks Silence After USMNT Decision
Christian Pulisic Breaks Silence After USMNT Decision originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Wednesday marked exactly one year until the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Advertisement On Tuesday night, the United States Men's National Team suffered an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Switzerland in the send-off match before the start of the CONCACAF Gold Cup — the final major tournament before the World Cup begins. USMNT captain Christian Pulisic watched the four-goal defeat from home. He opted to sit out the Gold Cup this summer so he could get extra rest after a long season for AC Milan, a decision that brought plenty of criticism his way. In his first public interview about his summer plans, Pulisic revealed that if he had his way, he would have been playing against Switzerland on Tuesday. United States Men's National Team forward Christian Pulisic (left) and USMNT head coach Mauricio Kamin-Oncea, Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images "I did want to be a part of at least the two friendlies," Pulisic said in an interview with former USMNT players Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and Tony Meola on Thursday. "I did speak with the coaches and I asked. I wanted to be part of the team in whatever capacity I could. Advertisement "They said no," Pulisic revealed of head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his national team staff. "They said they only wanted one roster and that's coach's decision. I fully respect that. I didn't understand it, but it is what it is.' Pulisic, who has 32 goals and 18 assists in 76 appearances for the national team, emphasized that resting this summer was the best decision for him and the team in the long term, with an eye toward the 2026 World Cup on home soil. The 26-year-old spoke about several topics during the lengthy interview, including his response to the criticism about commitment from USMNT legend Landon Donovan, which Pulisic's dad called out on social media. "Some of these guys were my idols; I respect them so much as players," Pulisic admitted. "It's tough especially when privately the way they talk to me and want to show support and be your friend and everything, and then it goes and they say something slightly different publicly." Advertisement USMNT's first game of the Gold Cup is on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET against Trinidad and Tobago on Fox. The World Cup kicks off in 364 days. Related: Christian Pulisic's Girlfriend Sends Clear Message Amid USMNT Absence Related: Christian Pulisic Turns Heads with Reaction to Criticism Amid USMNT Absence This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
