After the United States was eliminated from the Copa America group stage, fans were calling more than ever for coach Gregg Berhalter to step down. The United States failed to qualify for the group stage, which also included Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia. They lost to CONCACAF rivals Panama and Uruguay and left the tournament with just three points.
Immediately after the incident, sporting director Matt Crocker released a statement saying the U.S. Soccer Federation would “conduct a comprehensive review of our performance at the Copa America and how best to improve the team and results for the 2026 World Cup.”
According to a report from Fox Sports, we will have more news this week. If this plan includes replacing Berhalter, who also led the United States at the 2022 World Cup, who could take over?
Here we’ll look at nine candidates. Some are realistic targets, others are dreams, and there are a few options in between.
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is the best manager in the world who is currently unemployed. He chose to leave the Premier League club because he was “running out of energy”, a disconcerting statement from a manager whose battery never seemed to run out.
Klopp has since retreated to Mallorca, watching a tennis match last week and appearing to have disconnected from the world of football.
So why would he take the job? If he were to lead the United States in 2026, he would be taking charge of a country that is booming, with plenty of things to do and places to see.
In addition, an international role is less demanding on a daily basis than a club role, which allows for more breaks. Klopp could even stay in Spain and continue to do his job well.
Would Klopp really be interested in this transfer? He would probably need a lot of money and a lot of persuasion, although Tim Howard has personally offered to convince him.
Don’t kid yourself, but it’s not entirely impossible.
Speaking of dreams, Pep Guardiola would not only need money and to convince Klopp, but he also has a prestigious position. The Catalan coaches Manchester City and has a contract to continue leading the Sky Blues until 2025.
This would open up the possibility for him to take charge of a national team before the 2026 World Cup. Why not take over from the United States?
Guardiola supported the Boston Celtics in their NBA title run this season. Many fans in New York and Los Angeles still tell stories about Guardiola attending big games in soccer bars in those cities during his 2012-13 sabbatical.
The problem remains timing. The United States could perhaps work out a plan with an interim manager and Guardiola for the Gold Cup, but Brazil’s failure to recruit Carlo Ancelotti is a warning in that regard.
If Klopp or Pep don’t show up, a handful of MLS managers will likely have a stranglehold on the national team. One of them will be LAFC leader Steve Cherundolo.
Although he has only had one first-team coaching experience in the United States, first with LAFC’s Las Vegas Lights and then with the Black and Gold, he also has European experience that many other MLS-based candidates don’t have. After a long playing career at Hannover, Cherundolo worked in the German club’s academy and also served as an assistant there and at VfB Stuttgart.
Cherundolo won the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield double in 2022 and, like Berhalter, also had a long playing career with the United States.
Nancy may be the best manager in MLS right now, but he can’t be called a domestic rookie. The France native is no stranger to North American football, having worked at the Montreal Impact Academy and then as Thierry Henry’s assistant before taking charge of the first team.
Columbus convinced him to come to Ohio to coach the Crew a year later, which turned out to be a good decision. In his first year there, Nancy led the Crew to an MLS Cup title, even though the club parted ways with star Lucas Zelarayan midway through the season.
In addition to winning the MLS Cup, Nancy had results against Tigres and Monterrey on their way to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, losing to Pachuca in the final at Estadio Hidalgo.
Nancy plays a particular style that may not immediately apply to the international game, but he has proven himself to be a skilled communicator who the players believe in.
Somewhat overlooked by current MLS managers, Oscar Pareja may be an old reliable. US Soccer reportedly reached out to Pareja the last time there was a managerial vacancy, and taking the job would be a dream come true for the former Colombia international, who has called the United States home since joining MLS as a midfielder in 1998.
After a brief stint in Tijuana working in Liga MX, he found refuge at Orlando City. He led the club to its first trophy at the 2022 U.S. Open Cup and several strong performances at the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Bilingual and adaptable, Pareja has many of the qualities the U.S. should look for in a men’s national team coach. However, he lacks the international experience or global profile many seek.
Marsch is the ideal candidate in many ways. For one thing, he is American. He has experience, having worked as an American assistant before working at Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig and Leeds United. And he wanted the job.
But pay close attention to the tense of that verb. While Marsch had hoped to land the U.S. job, the timing is no longer right. He’s in the Copa América semifinals with Canada, leading the Reds in their first major tournament.
With a deal already in place with Canada — a deal that forced the federation to get creative and ask the country’s three MLS teams to chip in money to help bring Marsch in — and an exciting project already in the works, he might not even want to leave.
Perez is a rare breed: a former US international with experience as an international manager through his time with the El Salvador national team.
He took the Selecta to new heights and recruited many new players who are still part of the national team. At the end of his term, results were harder to come by and El Salvador moved on, although those who succeeded him also failed to achieve victory.
He appeared to say last week on social media that he was not interested in the job of US president, as he said he did not believe in “letting a process run its course.” Yet if the US called him, it is hard to imagine that Pérez would not respond.
Although they only crossed paths briefly at Southampton, US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker and Mauricio Pochettino likely at least crossed paths.
Poch left Southampton to join Tottenham Hotspur, leading the north London club to a historic run to the UEFA Champions League final. He then moved to Paris Saint-Germain, where he won Ligue 1 but failed to repeat the Champions League feat, and most recently worked at Chelsea.
Would he like to play on the international stage? Perhaps. It is also possible that he has other plans in mind. After coaching the World XI at a Soccer Aid event, he posted a picture on social media hinting at a return to the bench.
Although he has yet to hold a position in Europe, Gallardo is a highly sought-after coach for the remarkable work he has done with River Plate. He left the Argentine club after winning two Copa Libertadores and reaching the final of another, in addition to accumulating numerous domestic trophies.
His last contract with Saudi club Al-Ittihad didn’t go as well, but it gives him the freedom to sign with any team he wants. While Gallardo has long been expected to make the jump to one of Europe’s top leagues, he might be attracted to the job in the United States.
Gallardo has some ties to the United States. He briefly played in Major League Soccer for D.C. United, and his son, Matias, is at the academy in Atlanta, where U.S. Soccer is moving its headquarters.