Gregg Berhalter report card: How USMNT coach fared in World Cup vs. England

The United States men held firm with World Cup contender England on Friday, playing out a scoreless draw.

So often, analyzing a match requires highlighting the heroes on the pitch and putting player performances under the microscope. With Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal expertly handling that angle from Qatar, we’re going to take a different approach and focus on the man on the touchline. After earning a C-grade in his World Cup coaching debut against Iran, let’s take a look at the decisions Gregg Berhalter made against England. 

Line-up/initial tactics

First impression: It’s a bit surprising to see just one change from the first game, but the line-up is still largely a first-choice XI. Haji Wright has been the pool’s hottest striker since joining Antalyaspor last season, and should match up well with England’s center backs. The real risk with running back most of the same starters is two-fold: risking injury and excessive wear-and-tear without rotation (which can be alleviated with his substitutes) and the fact three of the starters (Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie and Tim Ream) would be suspended if they were shown a yellow card after getting cautioned against Wales.

Lasting impression: A largely unchanged line-up masked an effective tactical modification from the Wales match. Rather than playing in Berhalter’s preferred 4-3-3, the U.S. mostly operated in a 4-4-2 shape with McKennie drifting wide on the right and Pulisic dropping further back on the left while also pressing further up. McKennie and Dest were tasked with providing most of the width down the right, as the Juventus man was largely trailed by England’s midfielders due to his more customary role.

Pulisic’s work rate and threat from the left was essential to pulling this off, and he was also able to keep stride with Kieran Trippier and limit his crossing. So were the shifts of all three first-choice midfielders, with McKennie popping up on both ends to clear the ball in front of Matt Turner while also having two of the U.S.’s most dangerous shooting chances. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England’s three major positives of Iran game were missing
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bellingham struggled, cautious full-backs and slow tempo
🇺🇸 But USMNT did an outstanding job of shutting them out
🇺🇸 Tyler Adams led their defensive unit superbly

📝 @Zonal_Marking @johnspacemuller

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) November 26, 2022

Perhaps the real game-breaker was a more subtle change in approach. So often, Dest’s finest moments come when he’s given free roam, either as a facilitator in attack or when he cuts inward to line up his own shot. While he did manage to make one run of the latter type against England, he was particularly devoted to staying back and allowing McKennie to handle most of the attacking responsibilities from wide. The result was a U.S. side which overloaded that channel and targeted Luke Shaw and left center-back Harry Maguire. 

In total, the approach wasn’t flashy, but it was very effective to ensure England didn’t get off to a quick start as they had against Iran.

Grade: A+

Vibes

Berhalter inverted his look from the opener, swapping khakis for black pants and trading his black “STATES” Nike t-shirt for another of the company’s offerings in gray. After seeming to anger some on Twitter for wearing nothing clarifying that the States he represented are United, today’s top did so a bit out of order, with “States” stacked atop “United” underneath the company’s swoosh. That should clear that up.

Per Complex, Berhalter’s kicks were a pair of Supreme x Nike Air Max 98 TLs. The lower rise of these helped give a better look than his high-tops and khakis against Wales, making his strides along the touchline look less clunky on the broadcast. In contrast to Southgate’s customary suit (which was admittedly more casual than usual with a zip-up shirt underneath his jacket instead of a waistcoat), Berhalter cast a relaxed image for his players in a big game. 

Grade: B

Tactical tweaks/half-time adjustments:

First impression: Once again, Berhalter didn’t need to radically change things as he did so often during qualifying. The U.S. kept up its 4-4-2 base formation and made the subtle changes necessary to mirror its effectiveness as England looked to its left in hopes of a breakthrough. Instead, the emphasis seemed to be not to let the game get out of hand. After controlling just one of nine five-minute intervals of the opening 45, the U.S. won the possession battle for five such windows in the second half. Wales were able to equalise in the last game, but that came down to overloads, slow substitutions and a couple of individual errors on the penalty and its lead-up. Here’s hoping the tried-and-true route fares better today.

Lasting impression: Bend, but don’t break. Keep it under control. Whichever mantra he prefers, the consistency worked. England saw the shot count dip from five in the first half to just three in the second; correspondingly, the Three Lions’ expected goals (xG) halved from 0.36 to 0.18 per half. Granted, so did the United States’ (0.43 in the first, 0.19 in the second), and the U.S. failed to threaten much on their seven corner kicks.

Still, the decision to test Southgate’s often-questioned ability to adjust mid-match paid off. England’s best moments came after Grealish was introduced in the 68th minute, at which point the U.S. had largely slowed England’s attempts to rekindle the attacking flame. 

With 90 minutes to show for this approach to a 4-4-2, the result was a front line which forced England to work the ball up from wide, while Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams did tireless work to prevent their opponents from shifting centrally once they broke that initial line of engagement.

pic.twitter.com/kgUx8YFCnT

— John Muller (@johnspacemuller) November 25, 2022

When play resumed, England shifted more of its attacking emphasis to the left. It did little to reignite the attack until Southgate brought Grealish in, at which point the Manchester City man was a pest as he worked into the flow of the game. I would be surprised to see this more conservative shape against Iran as the U.S. will feel a win is there for the taking, even after their 2-0 win over Wales earlier on Friday. Still, the players showed they could fit a more reserved style, and that bodes well if this team advances beyond the group stage to face similarly stout opposition.

Grade: B+

Substitutions

First impression: *censored*

Lasting impression: When a team plays with as active of a press and as athletic of a defensive approach, players are bound to get gassed. When ten of your eleven starters are making their second starts in five days, players are bound to get gassed. For all of their blunders, FIFA recognized this potential problem in conjunction with the (for most leagues) midseason World Cup and afforded coaches five substitutions across three in-match windows (so, excluding half-time).

By the 65th minute, a few players looked ready for the hook. Wright and Weah had done well to force England’s center-backs to play it wide, but were trading that peskiness for some of their usual effectiveness on the other end. McKennie and Dest were under greater duress as England switched its emphasis to the left, and with both Serie A players on a yellow card, neither could challenge Luke Shaw, Raheem Sterling or Grealish with full confidence. 

There were plenty of capable alternatives, too. The nature of the game could’ve suited Jesús Ferreira’s deep-lying approach to striker if the U.S. wanted to win on the counter, while Brenden Aaronson and Giovanni Reyna could both capably play in McKennie’s hybrid right/center midfield role. Berhalter brought four right backs, so it isn’t as if there wasn’t an alternative to Dest with Shaq Moore, DeAndre Yedlin and Joe Scally on the bench.

And yet, Berhalter didn’t make his first change until the 77th minute, when McKennie and Dest were replaced by Aaronson and Moore. Six minutes later, Wright and Weah made way for pressing expert Josh Sargent and Gio Reyna’s brief World Cup debut. At that point, there was little time for any of the quartet to work into the flow of the match. Reyna got just five touches to acclimatize after not playing against Wales, with England the stronger aggressors by the time he took the field. 

It isn’t that any of the four changes were bad calls or even remotely questionable. With how late they were made, however, it didn’t seem like any were made to change the game and go for a win. With the lack of urgency, it felt like the U.S. was looking to see out a draw in the final 15 minutes. Given such a golden opportunity to snatch control of Group B, it’s a rare letdown in an otherwise strong managerial display.

Grade: D+

Final marks

In all reality, this was one of Berhalter’s better days since taking over the United States. Only the trio of wins against Mexico in 2021 (Gold Cup final, Nations League final, home World Cup qualifier) come to mind as alternative picks. Still, the tardiness in changing out players didn’t convey confidence that the team could snatch a late win. In fact, the delay may have allowed England back into control for the final twenty minutes. 

Any U.S. fan would’ve taken a draw heading into the day. With a sharp tactical adjustment and his players’ buy-in, only an aversion to his bench blemishes this report card.

Grade: B+

(Photo: Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)