9 Potential Replacements for Gregg Berhalter as USMNT Coach After Copa America Exit

After the United States’ elimination from the Copa América at the group stage, fans’ cries for manager Gregg Berhalter to be let go grew louder than ever. The U.S. failed to advance from a group that also included Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia, falling to both CONCACAF rival Panama and Uruguay to leave the tournament with just three points.

In the immediate aftermath, sporting director Matt Crocker released a statement saying U.S. Soccer would “be conducting a comprehensive review of our performance in Copa America and how best to improve the team and results as we look towards the 2026 World Cup.”

A report from Fox Sports indicates we’ll have more news sometime this week. If that plan does include moving on from Berhalter, who also led the U.S. at the 2022 World Cup, who might take over?

Here, we’ll take a look at nine candidates. Some are realistic targets, other are dreams, and there are a few in-between options as well.

Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is the best currently unemployed manager in the world. He chose to leave the Premier League club because he was “running out of energy,” which was a jarring statement from a manager whose battery never seemed to run low.

Klopp has since withdrawn to Mallorca. He took in a tennis match last week and generally appears to have unplugged from the soccer world.

So why would he take the gig? If he managed the U.S. in 2026, he’d be taking charge of a country on the rise that is filled with things to do and places to see.

Plus, an international job is less demanding from a day-to-day perspective than working at a club, allowing for many more breaks. Klopp even could stay in Spain and still do his job well.

Would Klopp actually want to make the move? It would probably take some serious convincing and a load of cash, although Tim Howard personally offered to convince him.

Don’t get your hopes up, but it’s not totally impossible.

Speaking of dreaming, Pep Guardiola not only would require the cash and convincing Klopp would, but he also has a prestigious job. The Catalan manages Manchester City and has a contract to continue leading the Sky Blues through 2025.

Notably, that would open up the possibility of him taking over a national team before the 2026 World Cup. Why not take over for the United States?

Guardiola turned up to support the Boston Celtics during their successful quest for the NBA title this season. Many fans in New York City and Los Angeles still tell stories about seeing Guardiola watching big matches in the cities’ soccer bars during his 2012-13 sabbatical.

The issue remains the timing. Perhaps the U.S. could cook up some sort of plan with an interim manager and Guardiola taking over for the Gold Cup, but Brazil’s failed pursuit of Carlo Ancelotti provides a cautionary tale in that regard.

If Klopp or Pep don’t turn up, a handful of MLS managers will undoubtedly have their hand up to lead the national team. One who will be in the mix is LAFC leader Steve Cherundolo.

While his only first-team coaching experience comes in the U.S., first with LAFC affiliate Las Vegas Lights and then with the Black and Gold, he also has European experience that many other MLS-based candidates don’t. After a long playing career in Hannover, Cherundolo worked in the German club’s academy setup and also was 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 career as a player with the United States.

Nancy is perhaps the best manager in MLS right now, but he wouldn’t qualify as a domestic hire. The France native knows soccer in North America well, however, having worked in the Montreal Impact Academy and then as an assistant to Thierry Henry before taking over the first team.

Columbus coaxed him to Ohio to coach the Crew a year later, which proved to be a good decision. In his first year there, Nancy led the Crew to an MLS Cup title, even with the club parting ways with star Lucas Zelarayan mid-season.

In addition to winning MLS Cup, Nancy secured results over Tigres and Monterrey in a run to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, falling to Pachuca in the final in Estadio Hidalgo.

Nancy does play a particular style that might not translate immediately to the international game, but he has proven himself to be an adept communicator whom players believe in.

Somewhat forgotten in the current crop of MLS managers, Óscar Pareja may be an old reliable. U.S. Soccer reportedly contacted Pareja the last time it had a managerial vacancy, and taking the job would be a dream for the former Colombia international, who has called the U.S. home since moving to MLS as a midfielder in 1998.

After a brief sojourn to Tijuana to work in Liga MX, he’s found a home in Orlando City. He led the club to its first trophy in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup and a number of good showings in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Bilingual and adaptable, Pareja brings many qualities the U.S. should be looking for in a men’s national team manager. However, he doesn’t have international experience or the global profile many crave.

In many ways, Marsch is the ideal candidate. For one, he’s American. He’s experienced, having worked as a U.S. assistant before working at Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig and Leeds United. He also wanted the job.

But pay close attention to the tense of that verb. While Marsch hoped to get the U.S. job, the timing isn’t right anymore. He’s in the Copa América semifinals with Canada, helming the Reds at their first major tournament.

With a deal already done with Canada—one that required the federation to get creative and ask the country’s three MLS teams to kick in cash to help bring Marsch in—and an exciting project already underway, he might not even want to leave.

Pérez is a rare breed: A former U.S. international with experience as an international manager thanks to his stint with the El Salvador national team.

He took La Selecta to new heights and brought in a number of new players who still form part of the national team. By the end of his tenure, results were more difficult to come by and El Salvador moved on, although those who have followed also have failed to find wins.

He appeared to say he wasn’t interested in the U.S. job in a social media post last week, as he said he didn’t “believe in not letting a process finish.” Still, if the U.S. called, it’s tough to see Pérez not answering.

While they overlapped only briefly at Southampton, U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker and Mauricio Pochettino presumably have at least crossed paths.

Poch jumped from Southampton to Tottenham Hotspur, leading the North London club to an historic run to the UEFA Champions League final. He then went to Paris Saint-Germain, where he won Ligue 1 but couldn’t replicate the Champions League feat, and most recently worked at Chelsea.

Would he want to enter the international game? Perhaps. It’s also possible he has something else lined up. After coaching the World XI at a Soccer Aid event, he posted on social media with a graphic hinting at a return to the bench.

While he’s yet to manage in Europe, Gallardo is a hot coaching commodity for the remarkable job he did with River Plate. He left the Argentine club after winning two Copa Libertadores and reaching the final of another, plus accumulating a number of domestic trophies.

His most recent job with Saudi club Al-Ittihad didn’t go as well, but that leaves him free to sign with any team he’d like. While it’s long been expected Gallardo will make the leap to one of Europe’s top leagues, perhaps he’d be attracted by the U.S. job.

Gallardo has a few connections to the U.S. He briefly played in Major League Soccer for D.C. United, and his son, Matias, is in the academy in Atlanta, where U.S. Soccer is moving its headquarters.