At the 2022 World Cup, there was a team that didn't allow a single goal from open play in the group stages. They drew with -- and outshot -- England. And they didn't lose a game in the opening round: one win and two draws.
Sure, they lost in the round of 16, but it came against the Netherlands -- a traditional world power -- and this team had almost 60% of the possession in that match, also outshooting the Dutch 17 to 11. A couple of bounces go differently, and this team is playing Lionel Messi and Argentina in the quarterfinals.
Now, this team didn't even qualify for the previous World Cup. And at the World Cup before that, this team went out in a match against Belgium that was so lopsided that the literal president of this team's country called this team's goalkeeper to congratulate him on all of the saves he'd made.
At every previous World Cup this team had qualified for, they'd rolled out the traditional international-underdog playbook: defend well, wait for set pieces and counterattacks. Supporters, who had been both pining for more modern tactics and to see their team perform at the World Cup, got it all in Qatar: this team played in a new way, and this team got results.
So, when this team announced that it was rehiring the same manager that guided this team at the World Cup, everyone rejoiced ... right? You simple, silly person. This is the United States men's national team: we don't rejoice here, buddy!
Last Thursday, as the USMNT annihilated its biggest rival 3-0 and U.S. Soccer announced that Gregg Berhalter would be returning as coach, a large portion of the fan base, well, I can't put it any better than this:
The USMNT's polarizing manager has been locked up through the 2026 World Cup and without any real competitive matches to trip him up in the meantime, it's incredibly unlikely that Berhalter gets fired before then. So, congrats and/or sorry, USMNT fans, you're stuck with the dude for the next three years.
Here's how we got here, and what that might look like over the next three-and-a-half years.