United States National Football

United States men's national team star Chrisitan Pulisic will miss significant time after suffering a knee injury in Thursday's Premier League match for Chelsea against Manchester City.

"Christian is a couple of months we think, hopefully less, but that's the timeframe there," Chelsea manager Graham Potter said Wednesday, via James Olley of ESPN.

Pulisic was subbed off in the 22nd minute after colliding with Manchester City defender John Stones:

The injury comes after a successful run for the United States at the World Cup, tallying one goal and two assists in four matches. The forward helped the team advance out of the group stage before losing to the Netherlands in the round of 16.

Pulisic will be unavailable for the team's upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Colombia, although the January camp is usually filled with MLS-based players anyway. The team's next official matches will be the CONCACAF Nation's League in March.

The injury still comes at a bad time in Pulisic's club career.

The 24-year-old had started three straight Premier League matches for Chelsea coming out of the international break. He had started just three of his team's first 22 matches in all competitions prior to the World Cup, although he appeared in all but one match.

The inconsistent playing time limited him to just one goal and two assists this season after tallying eight goals with five assists in 2021-22.

Pulisic had been seeking a loan during the January transfer window, with Manchester United reportedly open to a move, per Mark Ogden of ESPN. Arsenal and Newcastle United were also linked to the player.

The latest injury could make it difficult to complete a transfer until the summer window.

Chelsea, meanwhile, sit 10th in the Premier League table and will be shorthanded in the attack with Pulisic and Raheem Sterling dealing with injuries. The team was knocked out of the FA Cup on Sunday with a 4-0 defeat against Manchester City.

The club added João Félix on loan from Atlético Madrid to help provide depth up front.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports announced on Tuesday its roster of commentators and analysts for its upcoming coverage of U.S. Soccer on HBO Max and TNT, starting on Jan. 17 when the USWNT faces New Zealand.

Luke Wileman will serve as the lead play-by-play announcer for that coverage, while former USWNT players Julie Foudy and Shannon Boxx and former USMNT players DaMarcus Beasley and Kyle Martino will serve as analysts.

Sara Walsh will serve as the studio host, and Melissa Ortiz will operate as the coverage's reporter.

Along with winning two World Cup titles with the USWNT and two Olympic gold medals, Foudy has been a fixture on ESPN's soccer coverage. Boxx is a relative newcomer to broadcasting but brings extensive USWNT experience to the table, having won a World Cup and three Olympic gold medals during her playing career.

Both Foudy and Boxx have been inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Beasley was also elected to the Hall in 2022, appearing in four World Cups with the USMNT. He served as a member of the Fox Sports digital broadcast team for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Martino, following his playing career, has been a regular part of soccer coverage on ESPN, Fox Sports and NBC Sports, where he was a part of NBC Sports' English Premier League coverage in the United States between 2013-20.

Wileman's résumé includes covering World Cups, the Euros, the English Premier League and MLS, among other events, both for the BBC in England and TSN in Canada.

Walsh's stops have included ESPN and Fox Sports, covering both national teams, the MLS, NFL and NASCAR along the way.

Ortiz has worked for Fox Sports, ESPN and fuboTV in various broadcasting roles.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and U.S. Soccer reached an eight-year broadcasting agreement in March.

"During our discussions it was clear how dedicated they are to growing soccer in the United States, especially their commitment to expand the women's game," U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said in a statement at the time. "As we build towards 2026 and beyond, we have found a fantastic partner to spotlight the stories of our Women's and Men's National Teams."

Gregg Berhalter said Thursday he would like to remain the United States men's national team coach if given the opportunity.

"It's about being able to take that next step, and the next step is doing something that no U.S. team has ever done and that's get to the semifinals [of the World Cup] and see what happens from there," Berhalter said on The New World of Work online show (via Kyle Bonagura of ESPN). "So, there's a lot of great challenges involved. Of course, I'd like to continue in my role."

The 49-year-old's future with the team is uncertain with his contract already expired.

U.S. Soccer named assistant coach Anthony Hudson as the temporary head coach on Wednesday for the upcoming January camp and friendlies while the program takes a "full review of the USMNT program" after the 2022 World Cup.

Berhalter is also under investigation by the federation because of allegations of assault against his now-wife Rosalind that took place in 1991.

The coach had revealed the situation in a statement on Tuesday, saying someone had contacted U.S. Soccer with the information in an attempt to get him removed from his role.

Danielle Reyna, the mother of USMNT player Gio Reyna and former college roommate of Rosalind Berhalter, revealed she had given the information to U.S. Soccer in what she thought was a private conversation with U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart, per Paul Tenorio of The Athletic.

Gio's father, Claudio Reyna, had played on the USMNT alongside Berhalter and also sent messages to Stewart and USMNT general manager Brian McBride during the World Cup, per Jeff Carlisle and Kyle Bonagura of ESPN.

Outside of the recent drama, Berhalter's role with the team had already been a question mark.

The fourth-year national team coach helped the U.S. qualify for the World Cup after missing the event in 2018, while he also added trophies in the Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League with wins over rival Mexico. In the World Cup, the Americans advanced out of the group stage before losing to the Netherlands.

Berhalter still faced criticism for the team's struggles against quality opponents, including finishing third in World Cup qualifying behind Canada and Mexico, as well as his roster selection. Not only did Reyna only appear in just two World Cup games off the bench for a total of 53 minutes, but productive forwards like Ricardo Pepi and Jordan Pefok were left off the squad.

USMNT coaches also haven't fared well during their second World Cup cycles, notably Bruce Arena and Jürgen Klinsmann.

According to Carlisle, Berhalter had previously shown interest in leaving the USMNT to explore European club options. However, it's now clear his goal is to remain in charge of the national team.

The mother of United States men's national team star Gio Reyna admitted to alerting U.S. Soccer to an act of domestic violence committed by USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter in the early 1990s.

"But I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired, I did not make any threats, and I don't know anything about any blackmail attempts," Danielle Reyna said, per Fox Sports' Doug McIntyre.

She also told The Athletic's Paul Tenorio she reached out to U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart in mid-December, "just after the news broke that Gregg had made negative statements about my son Gio at a leadership conference":

"As part of that conversation, I told Earnie that I thought it was especially unfair that Gio, who had apologized for acting immaturely about his playing time, was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age. Without going into detail, the statements from yesterday significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question."

McIntyre shared her full statement:

Jeff Carlisle and Kyle Bonagura of ESPN also reported that Reyna's father Claudio "sent multiple messages to U.S. Soccer executives during the World Cup threatening to reveal sensitive details" about Berhalter's past. Those messages began after Giovanni was told he would have a "limited role" at the World Cup.

"The messages began after his son, Gio Reyna, was informed he would have a limited role at the tournament," per Carlisle and Bonagura.

Claudio Reyna said he was "upset by Gregg's comments about Gio after the U.S. was out of the World Cup" and "shared my frustrations about my son's World Cup experience with a number of close friends." He denied, however, sending any threatening messages.

Berhalter published a lengthy statement Tuesday admitting that he had kicked his then-girlfriend Rosalind months after they started dating in the fall of 1991.

Berhalter said he sought out counseling in the aftermath and alerted his family and friends to what had happened. He and Rosalind reconciled and were later married.

"The lessons learned from that night over three decades ago became the foundation for a loving, devoted, and supportive relationship, which we honored and celebrated with our 25th wedding anniversary this past weekend," he said.

Berhalter wrote that somebody had reached out to U.S. Soccer in "an apparent effort to leverage something very personal from long ago to bring about the end of my relationship with U.S. Soccer."

In conjunction with Berhalter's statement, U.S. Soccer announced it empowered the law firm of Alston & Bird LLP to conduct an independent investigation into allegations against the coach. The scope of the inquiry then grew.

"Through this process, U.S. Soccer has learned about potential inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside of our organization," the federation said. "We take such behavior seriously and have expanded our investigation to include those allegations."

Gio Reyna's lack of playing time was among the secondary storylines surrounding the United States at the 2022 World Cup as the team was knocked out in the round of 16. He made two appearances and logged 53 total minutes on the pitch in Qatar, which came as a surprise since the 20-year-old is widely considered one of the most promising young talents on the national team.

After the USMNT's tournament ended, Berhalter appeared at a leadership summit, where he divulged there was a player within the squad who "was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field," and he and his staff contemplated sending the player home. Those comments ended up getting published in a Charterworks briefing.

It came out that Gio Reyna was the player in question.

In an Instagram post, Reyna said he was "devastated" upon learning he was going to have a "limited" role at the World Cup. He said he "let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days after learning about my limited role" and apologized to Berhalter and his teammates.

Berhalter no longer appears to be in charge of the men's national team. His contract expired at the end of 2022, and Stewart announced Wednesday that Anthony Hudson will run the squad's upcoming training camp.

The United States men's national team has named Anthony Hudson as its temporary coach for the upcoming January camp and friendlies.

The squad is scheduled to face Serbia on Jan. 25 and Colombia on Jan. 28 in a pair of exhibition matches.

The contract for previous head coach Gregg Berhalter ran through the end of 2022, while the team announced it is still in the midst of its "full review of the USMNT program following the conclusion of the 2022 FIFA World Cup."

After missing the 2018 World Cup, Berhalter helped lead the squad back to football's biggest stage. The Americans advanced through the group-stage, before losing to the Netherlands in the round of 16.

On Tuesday, Berhalter released a statement disclosing an incident where he kicked his now-wife Rosalind in 1991.

The statement noted someone contacted U.S. Soccer during the World Cup with this information intending to take him down.

ESPN's Jeff Carlisle and Kyle Bonagura reported Gio Reyna's parents, Claudio and Danielle Reyna, were the ones who sent messages to U.S. Soccer executives.

U.S. Soccer announced it has hired a firm to conduct an independent investigation into the incident.

The USMNT has gone 37-12-11 in four years under Berhalter, including winning the Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nation's League.

While there is still uncertainty about the coach's future with the team, Hudson will take over in the interim after serving as an assistant for the USMNT during the World Cup. He previously coached the United States U20 team and spent parts of two seasons with the Colorado Rapids in the MLS.

Dave Sarachan spent over a year as the team's interim coach after the last World Cup cycle before Berhalter was hired in December 2018.

United States men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter issued a statement Tuesday in which he said he kicked his now-wife Rosalind during an argument four months after they first met and started dating in the fall of 1991.

He said he kicked her in the legs, calling it "a shameful moment and one that I regret to this day."

Berhalter added that he decided to disclose what occurred after "an individual contacted U.S. Soccer, saying that they had information about me that would 'take me down'—an apparent effort to leverage something very personal from long ago to bring about the end of my relationship with U.S. Soccer."

Berhalter said he and Rosalind told their friends and family members what had happened at the time but didn't go to the local authorities. He also said he "sought out counseling to help learn, grow and improve—one of the most valuable decisions that I ever made."

The couple reconciled seven months later and has been together since then.

"The lessons learned from that night over three decades ago became the foundation for a loving, devoted, and supportive relationship, which we honored and celebrated with our 25th wedding anniversary this past weekend," Berhalter said.

Shortly after Berhalter published his account, U.S. Soccer announced it sought the services of Alston & Bird LLP to perform an independent investigation after it first learned of an allegation against the coach on Dec. 11.

"Through this process, U.S. Soccer has learned about potential inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside of our organization," the federation said. "We take such behavior seriously and have expanded our investigation to include those allegations."

U.S. Soccer said it would publicly release its findings when the investigation is complete.

Berhalter was hired as national team coach in December 2018 as the USMNT looked to pick up the pieces after the team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

During his run, the U.S. was the inaugural champion in the CONCACAF Nations League and won the 2021 Gold Cup. The United States also qualified for the 2022 World Cup, where it advanced to the round of 16, losing 3-1 to the Netherlands.

Berhalter's contract with U.S. Soccer has expired, leaving the senior national team without a coach for the time being. The federation said it will announce plans for its January training camp "in the coming days."

On Thursday, U.S. Soccer announced the candidates for its Player of the Year award.

For the women, the finalists are forwards Alex Morgan, Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith and midfielders Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle. For the men, the finalists are forward Christian Pulisic, midfielder Tyler Adams, goalkeeper Matt Turner and defenders Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream.

Morgan, 33, has been nominated for the award seven times. Her past season was highlighted by an NWSL-leading 15 goals for the San Diego Wave.

Pugh, 24, is one of the USWNT's brightest young stars. She posted seven goals and seven assists for the team in the past year, to go along with 11 goals and six assists for the NWSL's Chicago Red Stars.

Smith, 22, led the USWNT this past season with 11 goals and was named the NWSL MVP after notching 14 goals. She was the youngest MVP in league history and helped lead Portland Thorns to a title.

Horan, 28, is the defending U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year award winner. She made 14 starts for the USWNT in the midfield and won the UEFA Women's Champions League with Olympique Lyon in club play.

Lavelle, 27, made 15 starts and 16 total appearances for the USWNT this past season, notching four goals and six assists. She also recorded five goals and an assist for the NWSL's Reign.

Pulisic, 24, has fallen in and out of favor at Chelsea but remains arguably the USMNT's most important and dynamic player. The three-time U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year award winner tied for a team-high five goals and had a team-high three assists this past year, which included a goal and and two assists at the World Cup.

Adams, 23, is the keystone of the USMNT and was named captain for this year's World Cup. The steady midfielder earned two Man of the Match distinctions in Qatar and has been a regular fixture on the club level for Leeds in the Premier League.

Turner, 28, ascended to the first-choice goalkeeper at this year's World Cup and finished the year with seven clean sheets. He serves as Aaron Ramsdale's backup at Arsenal on the club side.

Ream, 35, serves as the captain for club side Fulham and played every minute for the USMNT in Qatar as one of the team's most reliable players.

Robinson, 25, is Ream's teammate at Fulham and has staked his claim as the USMNT's first-choice left-back. He made 13 total appearances in World Cup qualifying and started all four matches in Qatar.

Gio Reyna has responded to a report from Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal of The Athletic that said the young Borussia Dortmund attacker showed an "alarming lack of effort in training" in the week before the World Cup.

Reyna released a statement Monday on Instagram in which he said he let his emotions affect his training and behavior after USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter told him he would play a limited role at the World Cup:

"Just before the World Cup, Coach Berhalter told me that my role at the tournament would be very limited. I was devastated. I am someone who plays with pride and passion. Soccer is my life, and I believe in my abilities. I fully expected and desperately wanted to contribute to the play of a talented group as we tried to make a statement at the World Cup.

"I am also a very emotional person, and I fully acknowledge that I let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days after learning about my limited role. I apologized to my teammates and coach for this, and I was told I was forgiven. Thereafter, I shook off my disappointment and gave everything I had on and off the field."

Reyna added that he was "disappointed that there is continuing coverage of this matter (as well as some highly fictionalized versions of events) and extremely surprised that anyone on the U.S. men's team staff would contribute to it," noting Berhalter had said in the past that team-related issues would remain "in house."

Berhalter alluded to the situation with Reyna at the HOW Institute for Society's Summit on Moral Leadership on Tuesday (h/t Kevin J. Delaney of CharterWorks), though he didn't name him:

"In this last World Cup, we had a player that was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field. One of 26 players, so it stood out. As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player. We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that's how extreme it was. And what it came down to was, we're going to have one more conversation with him, and part of the conversation was how we're going to behave from here out. There aren't going to be any more infractions.

"But the other thing we said to him was, you're going to have to apologize to the group, but it's going to have to say why you're apologizing. It's going to have to go deeper than just 'Guys, I'm sorry.' And I prepped the leadership group with this. I said, 'Okay, this guy's going to apologize to you as a group, to the whole team.' And what was fantastic in this whole thing is that after he apologized, they stood up one by one and said, 'Listen, it hasn't been good enough, You haven't been meeting our expectations of a teammate and we want to see change.' They really took ownership of that process. And from that day on there were no issues with this player."

CharterWorks later said in an editor's note that Berhalter's comments "were not meant to be public, but were erroneously greenlit for publication by someone representing the event organizers."

Berhalter also said the meeting was supposed to be off the record and that "it's not really important" who the player in question was, per ESPN's Jeff Carlisle.

But further reporting indicated the player was Reyna.

It wasn't hard to suss out that Berhalter was speaking about the 20-year-old, one of the USMNT's brightest young talents but someone who played a surprisingly small role in the team's four games at the World Cup.

While it didn't come as a huge surprise that Reyna didn't start—the midfield trio of Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie was the strength of the team, and wingers Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah were its most dangerous attackers—the fact that he wasn't even a substitute in two games became a major storyline.

The team missed his creativity and passing while struggling to unlock deep defensive blocks, though he did play the entire second half in the USMNT's 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16.

That may have been an indication that all had been resolved. It remains to be seen if the airing of the dirty laundry, even if unintentional by Berhalter, creates a rift between the two men or between Reyna and the U.S. Soccer Federation.

United States men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter will "begin discussions on a new contract" with the U.S. Soccer Federation following his team's trip to the World Cup round of 16, according to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.

Carlisle noted Berhalter has also shown interest in leading a European club, but the USSF is "prepared to begin talks" on a new deal.

The 49-year-old's current contract expires at the end of the year.

Berhalter was initially hired by the national team in December 2018, leading the squad to titles in the 2021 Gold Cup and 2020 Nations League. The team qualified for the World Cup after missing the event in 2018, advancing out of the group stage that also contained England, Wales and Iran.

Berhalter's experience with the national team also features 44 caps as a player, earning roster spots on the World Cup teams in both 2002 and 2006.

Despite his successes, the coach has faced significant criticism from fans over his roster selection and tactics, including during the 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in Saturday's knockout round.

Productive strikers Ricardo Pepi and Jordan Pefok were left off the roster, while promising attacker Giovani Reyna saw limited playing time during the tournament as the United States scored just three goals in four matches.

The squad also finished behind both Canada and Mexico in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, only beating Costa Rica for the final guaranteed spot on goal differential.

There will be significant pressure on whoever is leading the USMNT in the 2026 World Cup, with the country co-hosting the event alongside Mexico and Canada. The team is likely guaranteed a spot as a host, but expectations will be high to make a deep run with key players like Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie entering their prime.

Coaches leading the national team during a second cycle have also not fared well for the U.S. squad. Bruce Arena is the only U.S. coach to make the World Cup twice, but the 2006 team finished last in its group after advancing to the quarterfinal four years earlier. Jürgen Klinsmann was fired during qualifying of his second cycle as the squad failed to reach the 2018 World Cup.

Berhalter has a 37-11-12 record during his time with the national team, having also coached the Columbus Crew in the MLS and Hammarby in Sweden. His brother, Jay Berhalter, was the USSF's chief commercial officer when he was hired but has since left to become an executive VP at MLS.