Berhalter Stays Strong

After a Strong World Cup and Move to England, the Midfielder Continues His Form into the Cycle

Sebastian Berhalter has gone from an afterthought to one of America's most influential players this international window.

The 25-year-old midfielder scored and assisted in the 4-1 win over Peru, then did it again in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Chile, becoming only the second player in USMNT history to score and assist in consecutive matches. Landon Donovan is the other. Berhalter has had a hand in half of the eight goals the U.S. has scored in this camp.

Against Chile, he put the Americans ahead in the 37th minute, finishing at the near post after Sergiño Dest’s cross and a clever stepover from Julian Hall. He later whipped in the corner that Chris Richards headed home for the winner, the third of Richards’ four international goals Berhalter has set up.

It is a long way from where he stood at the start of 2025, when he had no senior caps. He debuted that June against Switzerland, went on to play in the Gold Cup, and has since collected 20 caps and four goals. At the World Cup, he came off the bench in the round-of-16 loss to Belgium, unleashing a shot that just missed and waving up the crowd in Seattle, and he finished the tournament with two goal contributions—both against Turkiye.

After the World Cup, he left the Vancouver Whitecaps for Middlesbrough, where he has two goals and two assists as the club sits third in the Championship. Mauricio Pochettino has noticed. “To have a player like him is priceless,” the coach said, praising his versatility and example for newcomers. Berhalter deflected the credit. “I think it’s more the team,” he said. “For me, it’s about helping the younger guys, and then also just being myself.”

Mathis Makes History

Teenage Winger Becomes the Youngest USMNT Goalscorer with Late Goal Against Chile

Mathis Albert needed less than four days to leave his mark on the U.S. Men’s National Team.

The Borussia Dortmund winger, just 17 years old, scored in stoppage time Tuesday night in St. Louis to seal a 4-2 win over Chile, becoming the youngest goalscorer in USMNT history at 17 years and 131 days. He broke Christian Pulisic's record.

The goal came after Chris Richards had restored the U.S. lead, with Albert crashing toward goal and tapping the ball home off the underside of the crossbar. By his own account, the significance didn’t register right away. “I didn’t even know until I went in the locker room, but it’s really good,” he said. “I’m happy to score, being the youngest ever.”

It capped a quick introduction to the senior team. Albert earned his first call-up from Mauricio Pochettino this month and debuted on Sept. 26 against Peru, coming off the bench and quickly drawing a penalty that Malik Tillman converted.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Albert has a French father and an American mother of German descent, which gives him citizenship in both countries. He came up through the LA Galaxy academy, drawing interest from Dutch and French clubs, before moving to Dortmund in 2024.

His rise has been rapid. At 16, he was the youngest player at the 2025 Club World Cup, though he didn't play. In April, he became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga, coming on late in a win over Freiburg and surpassing the mark set by Gio Reyna.

Albert had also moved through the U.S. youth ranks, from the under-15s through the under-17s, and played at the U-17 World Cup in November 2025.

Now, with the Mexico match looming Saturday, he has a record and a growing case for more minutes.

Young Americans Earn Another Friendly Victory

The USMNT Earned a Second Friendly Win, This Time After Trailing in the Second Half

The U.S. men’s national team overcame two deficits Tuesday night to beat Chile 4-2 in a friendly at Energizer Park in St. Louis, behind a young, sometimes shaky lineup.

Sebastian Berhalter gave the Americans a 37th-minute lead, finishing a Sergiño Dest cross after Julian Hall’s clever dummy opened space. The U.S. had been living dangerously, with Chile hitting the woodwork twice, and the visitors leveled in first-half stoppage time. Diego Ulloa pounced on a scramble after goalkeeper Chris Brady failed to clear a corner.

Maximiliano Gutiérrez put Chile ahead in the 49th minute, cutting in from the left to beat Brian Schwake, who had replaced Brady at halftime and was making his senior debut.

The response was immediate. Hall rose to head in a Gio Reyna cross in the 51st minute, becoming the youngest player to score in each of his first two USMNT appearances. Chris Richards, one of several World Cup veterans who changed the tone after coming on in the second half, powered home a Berhalter corner in the 72nd minute for a 3-2 lead. Mathis Albert added a stoppage-time goal to seal the win.

“The resilience and everything was fantastic,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

Pochettino fielded his youngest lineup yet, and six players made their first career starts: Brady, Hall, Adri Mehmeti, Neil Pierre, Brooklyn Raines and Frankie Westfield. Antonee Robinson wore the captain’s armband for the first time, as St. Louis native Tim Ream was honored after announcing his retirement.

The match ended in a benches-clearing scuffle after Chile’s Leandro Hernández swiped at the ball while Schwake held it. Richards and Hernández were each booked.

“If you mess with family, this is what happens,” Richards said.

The U.S. next faces rival Mexico in Arizona on Saturday.

Ellis Makes History

 Teenager Became The Quickest USMNT Debutant to Score in the Modern Era

Justin Ellis did not have to wait long to make his mark on the U.S. men’s national team. Four minutes into his debut against Peru on Saturday, the 19-year-old Orlando City homegrown had already scored, and he did it in the stadium he calls home.

The goal was a family affair. Ellis started the move himself, drawing a foul on the left side about 25 yards out. Gio Reyna stepped up to deliver the free kick, and Ellis got ahead of his marker to flick a header that curled toward the far post and settled in off the woodwork. It was the fastest goal by a debutant in the program's modern era, and it made Ellis the first player to score on his U.S. debut on home soil in Florida since Brandon Vazquez in January 2023.

Even the script seemed pre-written. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino told Ellis another goal was coming, and Reyna said the day before that he planned to set him up. “I don’t know how he called it,” Ellis said. “It’s just an unbelievable moment.”

The finish capped a steep rise. Ellis won MLS NEXT’s U19 MVP award in 2025, helped Orlando’s academy lift the Generation adidas Cup, and signed his first-team deal in February. Only months later, he was in a senior national team camp. He also became eligible to represent Uruguay through his mother, and Uruguay coach Diego Forlán reportedly met with him the week before his U.S. call-up, which makes this debut look like a statement of intent.

As the team opened a new cycle after a round-of-16 World Cup exit, Ellis embodied the experiment: young, fearless and ready. Pochettino cautioned that these players still need patience, but Ellis gave the staff plenty to think about.

Dominant Win Over Peru

Behind Goals From a Couple of Debutants, the USA Roll Past Peru

A new era for the U.S. men’s national team began in Orlando on Saturday with a flurry of fresh faces. In its first match since a round-of-16 World Cup exit against Belgium, Mauricio Pochettino’s side beat Peru 4-1 at Inter&Co Stadium in a friendly dominated by debutants.

Justin Ellis, the 19-year-old who plays for Orlando City in that stadium, needed just four minutes to make his mark. After helping win a free kick, he met Gio Reyna’s delivery with a looping header past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. “I play in the stadium often, but to play in the stadium for my national team is unbelievable,” Ellis said afterward.

Peru leveled in the 15th minute when Gianluca Lapadula slipped between defenders and headed home from close range. The visitors, who struggled to hold the ball for long stretches, went into halftime at 1-1.

The Americans dominated the second half. Malik Tillman buried a penalty into the bottom-left corner in the 66th minute after substitute Mathis Albert was fouled as he ran into the box. Six minutes later, 18-year-old Julian Hall poked in a Sebastian Berhalter cross for his first senior goal. Berhalter capped the evening in the 90th minute with a rocket from outside the area.

The debut numbers were striking. Eleven players earned first caps, eight of them teenagers, including 16-year-old Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan, who started and picked up a yellow card after colliding with Gallese midway through the first half. Eleven debuts fall one short of the U.S. record of 12, set against Poland in 1973 and matched against Guatemala in 1988. Numerous debutants in that 1988 match helped the USA qualify for the World Cup in late 1989, the first time in 40 years.

Ellis and Hall also became the first American teenagers to score in the same match since Josh Sargent and Timothy Weah did so against Bolivia in 2018. Next up is Chile in St. Louis on Tuesday, followed by Mexico and Canada.

New USMNT Faces

Multiple New Players, Mostly from the Youth Ranks, Could Make Their Senior Debut

Thirteen uncapped players are on Mauricio Pochettino’s roster, and the group averages just 19 years and six months. Most could see the field in the four-match window.

Cavan Sullivan is the headliner. The 16-year-old Philadelphia Union attacker has been among MLS’s standout performers this season, with six goals and five assists in roughly 1,370 league minutes. If he plays, he would rank as the fourth-youngest player to wear the U.S. shirt. Pochettino praised him but stressed he is still a kid who needs to mature. Sullivan’s Union teammates Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield join him at camp for the first time.

Red Bull New York contributes two homegrown players. Julian Hall, the league’s top-scoring teenager with nine goals, could contribute quickly with his movement off the ball. Midfielder Adri Mehmeti, 17, has become a regular starter and is known for his composure in possession. Orlando City’s Justin Ellis, 19, has flourished alongside new teammate Antoine Griezmann. In New England, Peyton Miller, 18, is a possible future left-back currently used on the right wing, and 21-year-old midfielder Brooklyn Raines could become the third U.S. international born in Liberia.

Abroad, Zavier Gozo joined Crystal Palace from Real Salt Lake this summer, and Cole Campbell, 20, impressed early in the Bundesliga with Elversberg. Mathis Albert, 17, is a top Dortmund prospect still waiting for regular minutes with the club’s reserves.

The goalkeeper group adds two new names. Diego Kochen, 20, is a Barcelona product starting on loan at Denmark’s Lyngby, and 25-year-old Brian Schwake has been one of MLS’s best keepers for league-leading Nashville SC. 

Five of the uncapped players, including Gozo, Miller and Raines, appeared at the 2025 U-20 World Cup, and three, Albert, Hall and Sullivan, played at the U-17 World Cup.

Pochettino's First Roster of the New Cycle

First Roster After the World Cup Features 13 Uncapped Players

The U.S. men’s national team begins its post-World Cup chapter with a roster that looks more like a youth movement than a continuation. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino named 28 players for the September-October window, which features matches against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada, and the group averages 22 years and nine months, more than four years younger than the World Cup squad.

Thirteen players are uncapped, led by 16-year-old Philadelphia Union attacker Cavan Sullivan, who could become one of the youngest players ever to represent the U.S. Borussia Dortmund’s Mathis Albert, Red Bull New York’s Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti, as well as Orlando City’s Justin Ellis, also earned first caps. Notable omissions include Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Folarin Balogun and World Cup captain Tim Ream, who will be honored in St. Louis against Chile.

Pochettino framed the changes as a reset. “It’s a fresh start. It’s a new cycle,” he said, adding that past performance alone no longer guarantees a place. The federation also wants more young players in the mix with an eye toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Experience remains in the spine, with Tyler Adams and Antonee Robinson leading the group at 58 caps apiece, followed by Yunus Musah, Sergiño Dest and Gio Reyna. The goalkeeper job looks wide open, with Matt Freese challenged by Brian Schwake, Diego Kochen and Chris Brady.

The forward line took a hit when Ricardo Pepi withdrew after just nine minutes with a muscle injury in PSV’s loss to Twente. St. Louis City’s Damion Downs, on loan from Southampton, replaces him. Pepi’s absence leaves Downs and Hall as the only true strikers, while Ellis, Sullivan and Cole Campbell offer different attacking profiles.

The U.S. opens against Peru on September 26.

Cherundolo Named Olympic Team Head Coach

Former National Team Defender and MLS Manager to Lead the Olympic Cycle

U.S. Soccer has turned to a familiar face to lead its Olympic ambitions on home soil. Steve Cherundolo was announced Thursday as head coach of the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team, which will compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The 47-year-old arrives with a resume that spans both playing and coaching success. A three-time World Cup veteran and National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, Cherundolo made 87 appearances for the senior national team and spent 15 seasons at Hannover 96, where he made 423 appearances across all competitions.

His coaching path took him through the German youth ranks before he returned stateside in 2021 to lead the Las Vegas Lights, LAFC's USL affiliate. A year later, he took over at LAFC and immediately delivered, winning the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup double in his first season while setting a league record for most wins by a first-year head coach. He added a U.S. Open Cup title in 2024 before stepping down last November to move his family back to Germany.

Now he takes on a new challenge in familiar territory. "Representing the United States at the Olympic Games is one of the greatest honors in sports, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to lead this team," Cherundolo said in a statement, adding that the group's job is "to compete with courage, humility, and a clear identity."

Cherundolo's first order of business will be identification camps at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center in Fayetteville, Georgia, as he begins building a roster for the tournament in the U.S.

Criticism of Pulisic

Winger Faces Backlash After Underwhelming World Cup Ends in Injury

Christian Pulisic entered his home World Cup as the face of American soccer, but the tournament he'd hoped would cement his legacy instead left him fielding pointed criticism after a quiet exit against Belgium.

The 27-year-old struggled to find rhythm for most of the first hour against the Belgians before departing with an ankle injury in the 59th minute, unable to influence a match the U.S. would go on to lose 4-1. It was a deflating way to end a tournament that began with real promise—Pulisic looked lively in the opening 45 minutes against Paraguay before a calf injury interrupted his run, sidelining him for stretches of the group stage and preventing him from ever recapturing that early form.

His postgame comments only intensified the scrutiny. Asked by Fox's Jenny Taft what had forced him off, Pulisic explained he'd sprained his ankle, called it a frustrating way to end things, but added that he now had time to rest. That final remark didn't sit well with a fanbase already stung by the elimination, and it opened the door to sharper criticism elsewhere.

Former USWNT World Cup winner Carli Lloyd was among the most vocal, saying on air that she'd expected more from Pulisic across the tournament and suggesting the USMNT's star players looked tentative and lacked confidence from the outset. She followed up on social media with a blunt jab, arguing rest is something reserved for after a career ends. Former forward Sydney Leroux echoed the sentiment, suggesting Pulisic had coasted through the tournament.

The severity of that ankle injury has since come into focus. Pulisic's setback against Belgium has been diagnosed as a bone bruise and microfracture of the tibia/fibula, and he was seen on crutches at the team hotel the day after the match. He's expected to be sidelined for several weeks, putting him in a race to be ready for AC Milan's preseason. Pulisic later expanded on his disappointment beyond the injury itself: "I'm disappointed with myself, of course, but I'm going to try to stay positive. I did a lot of good things and the team did as well."

For a player often described as the best of his generation to wear the U.S. crest, the numbers told their own story: no goals and a single assist across the run. It leaves Pulisic, still very much in his prime, facing an uncomfortable reckoning over a home World Cup that never delivered the signature moment so many expected from him.

A Month of Dreams and Disappointment

Recapping the USMNT's 2026 World Cup Run

The United States' home World Cup began with a statement. In front of a raucous crowd at Los Angeles Stadium, the Americans dismantled Paraguay 4-1 in their opener on June 12, with Folarin Balogun scoring twice in the first half and late substitute Gio Reyna adding a stoppage-time finish. It was the most goals the USMNT had ever scored in a single World Cup match, and it set an electric tone for the tournament to come. However, Christian Pulisic, who was untouchable in the first half, was subbed off at halftime with an apparent calf injury.

The Americans followed that up with a composed 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle on June 19, with an own goal and Alex Freeman scoring, clinching their spot in the knockout rounds and, shortly after, their first group title since 2010. With qualification already secured, Pochettino rotated his squad heavily for the group finale against Türkiye, and the experimental lineup paid the price, falling 3-2 on a stoppage-time winner on June 25. Even in defeat, the U.S. closed the group stage with its highest point total and largest goal tally in tournament history. Pulisic was left on the bench for the victory over Australia and came on in the second half against Türkiye, showing signs of life and recovery.

The knockout rounds brought a new format wrinkle with an added round of 32, and with it, the USMNT's first win at that stage since 2002. On July 1, Balogun opened the scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina before halftime, and after his red card sent him to the locker room early, Malik Tillman sealed the win with a stunning free kick. It marked just the third time in program history the U.S. had beaten a European opponent in a knockout match.

Then came the chaos. Balogun's suspension for the red card was controversially lifted by FIFA a day before the Belgium match, a reversal reportedly prompted by a call from President Trump to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Belgium's federation said it received no explanation for the decision, and manager Rudi Garcia said he initially thought the news was an "April Fools'" joke. The episode sparked a wave of pointed reactions across Europe after Belgium won the ensuing match.

That match arrived Monday, and it unraveled quickly. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in the opening 33 minutes, sandwiching a deflected Tillman free kick that briefly tied the score. A second-half hesitation by goalkeeper Matt Freese gifted Belgium a third goal, and Romelu Lukaku added a fourth in stoppage time, sending the U.S. out 4-1 and prompting Belgium's Twitter account to post "Overturn this" afterward.

For all the disappointment, the run left plenty to build on. The U.S. won three World Cup matches for the first time ever, scored a tournament-record 11 goals, and gave Pochettino his first three victories as a World Cup manager. Tillman became the first American to score in consecutive knockout matches and just the second player on record with two direct free-kick goals in a single World Cup.

Still, questions linger about whether this generation—Pulisic, McKennie, Adams and the rest—can ever get past the round of 16, a wall the program has now hit in five of its nine World Cup appearances since 1990. As the buzz of a home tournament fades, the USMNT's next real test begins the long climb toward 2030.