Gregg Berhalter’s to-do list with the USA: Fix Reyna relationship and get the most out of Balogun

Gregg Berhalter is back as head coach of the US men’s national team, but he’s not on the sidelines just yet.

Interim coach BJ Callaghan, who just led the team to a successful defense of the Nations League crown, will continue to coach the team in the Gold Cup while Berhalter and sporting director Matt Crocker focus on “bigger things.”

“This is not just business as usual and going back to how things were in the past,” Crocker said in the US Soccer press release announcing Berhalter’s new hire.

“We have a unique opportunity to evolve and move the team forward, and I want us to take the time to think about how we do that together in partnership with Gregg.”

With the US-hosted Copa America less than a year away and the 2026 World Cup – also on US soil – fast approaching, there is plenty for Berhalter to handle as he reclaims his role as head coach.

Here, Mail Sport takes you through the 49-year-old’s to-do list.

Restore his relationship with Gio Reyna – and Ricardo Pepi

If not the most important entry on this list, Berhalter smoothing things over with Gio Reyna is certainly the most talked about.

The last time the two were together, Berhalter told Reyna – who is regarded as one of the team’s top talents – that he would play a “very limited” role (Reyna’s words) at the World Cup in Qatar and the attacking midfielder would only play Played 52 minutes into the match. four games.

The drama only got worse after the US was eliminated, when Berhalter admitted at a business conference that an unnamed player (later revealed to be Reyna) was nearly sent home for their lack of effort.

That led to Reyna’s mom, Danielle, repeating a 31-year-old domestic violence incident between Berhalter and his now-wife, Rosalind, when she told US Soccer about the kicking incident that happened between the couple in college.

ESPN too reported that Gio’s father, Claudio – a former USMNT captain and ex-Berhalter teammate – threatened to share allegations about Berhalter’s past while the US was still playing in Qatar.

In the end, the ugly scenario tarnished an otherwise promising performance by the team at the World Cup and seemed to spell a sour end for Berhalter’s time as national coach.

Now, however, he’s back – the report said it was an ‘isolated incident’, with ‘no indications’ of further problems – and getting on good terms with one of his best players should be a priority .

Whether Reyna wasn’t 100 per cent healthy in Qatar – as Berhalter had suggested – or if he just wasn’t trusted to make a defensive shift, the Borussia Dortmund man has looked home in the starting eleven over the past week as the US beat Mexico and Canada beat .

Berhalter will also want to patch things up with Ricardo Pepi, who was surprisingly left out of the World Cup squad even though the team lacked a veteran number 9.

The coach admitted in his re-introductory press conference that he had not yet spoken to the pair – or goalkeeper Zack Steffen – who had also been left out of the squad.

Pepi and Reyna – whose family has known Berhalter’s for decades – have both had rough times with Berhalter, but the 20-year-olds could both play important roles in the upcoming tournaments.

Berhalter needs them in his corner.

Find his favorite central defender

While the US looked largely strong defensively at the World Cup – until their 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the Round of 16 – Berhalter has some selections to ponder in the back.

Tim Ream, for example, turns 36 in October and looks almost nothing like the national team photo after impressing in Qatar. He was not selected for the Nations League squad.

Then there are Chris Richards and Miles Robinson, who both missed the World Cup through injury.

Richards started both games in the Nations Leauge – alongside Robinson in the semi-final and alongside Zimmerman in the final – and seems an obvious choice to start healthy.

With Ream being phased out, Crystal Palace’s Richards is now the only centre-back to play top-flight European football in the US squad, and his age (23) means he will be regarded as someone for the future and the present if his performances hold up.

A header goal to open the scoring vs. Canada won’t have hurt its case either.

Zimmerman teamed with Ream for most of the World Cup (Cameron Carter-Vickers started vs. Iran), and the Nashville SC defender held up most of the time, though his distribution was sometimes lacking.

For Berhalter, it looks like Richards will be a fairly automatic selection at centre-back, while Zimmerman, Robinson, Carter-Vickers (who is currently injured) and Birmingham City’s Auston Trusty will command the other spot.

Get the most out of Folarin Balogun

With Folarin, Balogun, Berhalter and the US have the dangerous, clinical number 9 that the team missed in Qatar.

Now Berhalter just has to maximize that talent.

Balogun already marked his arrival to the USMNT with a goal vs. Canada – and the way that unfolded may be instructive for the future.

Before firing at the near post, Balogun was fed through the middle of the park by Reyna, when he received a perfectly weighted ball on his right foot.

And while fans of the Dortmund playmaker may be happy to see him on the pitch not at all under Berhalter he might have to play through the center rather than on the wing, where he often appears.

Playing in center against Mexico and Canada, Reyna offered a good balance between creativity and effort. He also assisted Richards’ opener in the final via a corner kick.

While Reyna might not have started without the injury of Tyler Adams opening up a midfield spot, it’s hard to imagine a full American lineup without him.

After the ‘MMA’ midfield of Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie and Adams provided control and structure in Qatar, it may be time for Berhalter to loosen things up a bit.

Whether using the creatively inclined Reyna as a more traditional No. 8 in a 4-3-3 or adapting it to a 4-2-3-1, the midfielders behind Balogun will have a talented goalkeeper to go to to search.

Balogun’s finishing shouldn’t be a problem, but the service he gets – or not – is another question to ponder.

Get the fans back on his side

Berhalter will face tough competition in next year’s Copa America, but he will face opponents, even within the US’s own fanbase, who wanted to take on another candidate.

Some would portray him as a rigid tactician with poor in-game management.

Others would point to his previous domestic violence incident and his public broadcast of Reyna’s behavior in Qatar.

And part of the fan base saw names like Patrick Vieira being associated with the job and just thought US Soccer could upgrade.

Regardless of the complaints about Berhalter being rehired – and they come from a significant portion of the USMNT fan base – winning cures everything.

A strong performance in the Copa America would give Berhalter a solid footing on his way to the World Cup. But difficult calls will have to be made.

Could Reyna replace one of Musah, McKennie or Adams in the starting lineup? Will he trail Zimmerman as the only MLS representative in the XI?

Berhalter didn’t do too bad in the World Cup, but the fans see a ‘Golden Generation’ talent capable of leaving more than a round of 16.

Supporters want to see great progress, and until that happens, Berhalter will only be tolerated.