Nearly four years ago, Sebastian Berhalter was up in the stands at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as a fan supporting his father, Gregg, the U.S. men’s national team coach at the time. The younger Berhalter was a professional soccer player, but not a particularly accomplished one back then. Austin FC, the Major League Soccer (MLS) team for whom he played on loan from the Columbus Crew, declined an option to keep him. The Crew traded Berhalter to the Vancouver Whitecaps for the 2022 season.
The older Berhalter, meanwhile, had designs on building U.S. momentum to carry into the 2026 World Cup and finishing his job before a ravenous host country crowd.
That it would be Seb making a World Cup splash this year, in Los Angeles in front of 70,492 fans—Gregg being one of them—was a twist no one could see coming. In a final group stage game that U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino approached as an opportunity to rest regulars and give reserves auditions for larger roles, along with World Cup experience, Berhalter seized his moment. In a 3-2 U.S. loss to Turkey that didn’t influence the team’s position in the knockout round—the U.S. will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on July 1 in Santa Clara, Calif.—Berhalter contributed to both goals.
In the third minute, Berhalter, a set-piece specialist, expertly placed a corner kick to the far post, onto the left foot of Auston Trusty, who tapped the ball to the ground and crushed it into the net to give the U.S. a 1-0 advantage.
Then, early in the second half, after Turkey took a 2-1 lead, Berhalter equalized, with a rocket from the top of the penalty area, off a rebound, that is arguably the highlight-reel goal of the World Cup for the U.S. so far.
“The ball just popped out, and I knew if I stayed calm and just made a swing motion, that I had a chance,” says Berhalter. “I practice those a lot.”
“I always say to him, he doesn’t score ugly goals,” Gregg Berhalter tells TIME in a telephone interview after the game, while heading to the airport for a flight back to Chicago, where he coaches the Fire, the city’s MLS team. “He only scores good goals.”
“He was amazing,” says Folarin Balogun, the emerging U.S. striking star who has two goals in the tournament and created an own goal in the team’s 2-0 victory over Australia on June 19. “I told him straight after the game, he had a great game. He was making decisive passes, putting in great work, and the goal as well. So I’m very, very happy for him.”
Defender Chris Richards called Berhalter, who was given a yellow card in the first half for a harsh tackle, “pit-bullish.” “He plays with so much passion, he plays with so much confidence,” says U.S. forward Brenden Aaronson. “You love to see it, because he’s a guy that gives his all day in and day out in training, and whenever he comes into games. It’s a credit to him, because he deserves this moment.”
When asked if he successfully made the case for more knockout stage playing time, Berhalter deflected. “For me, it’s about winning soccer games,” he says. “I’m representing my country. Whatever my role is, doesn’t matter.”
Dad was also careful not to pump his son too hard, while putting on his professional cap.
“From a coach’s standpoint, when you play a whole new lineup, you want the guys to come in and play well and really make it difficult for you,” says Gregg. “He definitely did that.”
The Berhalters went through a very public saga since that Qatar World Cup, making Sebastian’s success even more satisfying. You may remember: in early 2023, TIME called it the “Family Feud Tearing Apart U.S. Soccer.” After Berhalter revealed that he almost sent Gio Reyna, son of his longtime friend, former U.S. standout Claudio Reyna, home from the Qatar World Cup because of a poor attitude, the Reynas became incensed: according to an independent investigation, Danielle Reyna, Gio’s mom, reported to U.S. Soccer a domestic violence incident involving Gregg and his now-wife, Rosalind, from 30 years prior. The investigation also found that Claudio Reyna pressured U.S. Soccer officials about Gio’s playing time.
Berhalter’s contract was not immediately renewed at the end of 2022. U.S. Soccer rehired him in June of 2023 but fired Berhalter about a year later, after the U.S. did not advance out of the group stage at the 2024 Copa América, which was hosted in the U.S.
Gregg has said that his firing actually helped clear Sebastian’s path to the national team, as it would have been difficult, optically, to take his son on the roster if he were still the coach. Given his son’s performance against Switzerland, does he still believe that? Gregg laughs. “He’s proven he belongs there,” says Gregg. “From perception, from being his dad, it would be difficult. From being a national team coach, it would be easy.”
Maurico Pochettino, Gregg’s permanent replacement, agrees: he called Sebastian, who was producing for the Whitecaps, up to the national team in 2025.
“It’s no secret that with his dad being the coach for a little bit, maybe he felt like his window to the national team was kind of blocked,” says Richards. “But he never let his last name define him when it came to coming into camp.”
Plus, all Berhalter-Reyna tension seems firmly in the past. Sebastian and Gio are teammates on this year’s squad. “He’s been training very well the last couple weeks,” says Gio. “We’ll need him coming forward in the rest of the games.”
Gregg finds himself in a unique situation: watching his son play for a team he hoped to be coaching, and representing an organization, U.S. Soccer, that fired him.
“There’s obviously mixed emotions,” Berhalter tells TIME. “But the one that I keep going back to is just love. Love for Sebastian, love for all those guys. I had them as young players, and now to see they’re matured and how well they’re playing, I’m so happy for them. I have so much love for them because we created bonds that will last forever.”
He was far from torn on Thursday, as he relished his son’s goal and assist at the World Cup.
“My thoughts always go right back to him,” says Berhalter. “How much it means for him, how much it means for the family. He had 32 people there supporting him today. It’s a great accomplishment. He performed on the world’s biggest stage.”
When asked if he’ll be in Santa Clara for the July 1 knockout game, Gregg insists he’s working on it. He has some professional responsibilities with the Fire to attend to.
Here’s a hunch: Berhalter will be there. “The team has captivated the nation,” he says. “They’ve done such a great job. Now it’s about continuing to get behind the team, and hope they can do something special.”
The post ‘He Doesn’t Score Ugly Goals’: Ex-Coach of U.S. Soccer Has Reason to Cheer This World Cup appeared first on TIME.
