A former USMNT manager has gone viral this week after being called out for comments he made about Mauricio Pochettino following the USA’s 2-0 win over Bosnia in the World Cup Round of 32. The Stars and Stripes secured their first World Cup knockout victory since 2002 on Wednesday night.
Folarin Balogun – one of the standout performers at this summer’s tournament – played both hero and villain in Santa Clara. He scored the crucial opener to put his side in the driving seat, but then threw a spanner in the works for Pochettino and co. when he was shown a red card in the 64th minute. That left Mark Tillman to step up late on and double the co-hosts’ advantage.
After topping their group and recording back-to-back World Cup wins for the first time since 1930 with victories over Paraguay and Australia, the USA have well and truly caught football fever this summer. There’s a sense of optimism surrounding the team unlike anything seen before – but that doesn’t mean everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.
Ex-USMNT Manager Bizarrely Puts Pochettino on Blast After Bosnia Win
Phil Noble via Action Images via Reuters
Perhaps a little salty, Gregg Berhalter was unimpressed with Pochettino’s tactical set-up during the 2-0 victory over Bosnia, and believes superstar Christian Pulisic needs to be utilised more ahead of their Round of 16 tie vs Belgium.
Speaking on FanDuel’s Coaches Corner, which features Berhalter alongside fellow former coaches Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley, he was critical of the way the US was getting ‘Captain America’ involved. “I want to touch quickly on Christian, because I don’t know if you guys remember the first time he touched the ball in the game?” he asked the studio.
“It really came from us building in our shape, it was like a 3-1-6 (formation) almost. (Bosnia) are playing, as Bob, mentioned a 5-3-2. So they shifted over once to our three, but then on the next pass to our open center back, they’re released with a midfielder. When they did that, Antonee Robinson was high, Malik (Tillman) was high, Christian was wide and we played in the ball.
“Malik runs behind the back line and Christian cuts across the middle of the field like a knife – just accelerating across the field. That was a really dangerous attack.
I would have liked to see that more. Stay wide, get the ball, take the opponent on and have been have players running from there. I don’t think we did that enough. I don’t think there was enough intention to get Christian the ball in those positions to really set him loose.”
While Berhalter – who has sat in Pochettino’s seat on two separate occasions, between 2018 and 2022, and again between 2023 and 2024 – was just providing some analysis, as he was called upon to do, he has been destroyed by his former supporters after the video quickly went viral on social media.
⚽
World Cup History Quiz
You scored
out of 20
Gregg Berhalter looks on before the game between the United States and Bolivia in a 2024 Copa America match at AT&T Stadium on June 23, 2024.Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Pochettino’s tactics are superior to those of the fired coach. That’s the opinion of a majority of USA fans right now, and so scrutiny towards the current manager’s predecessor has been swift, with one X user remarking: “Yes, let’s ask the guy who was fired for being bad at his job what we should’ve done,” as others pointed out that he “failed” to do what his heir has managed to do.”
“He needs to stay in his lane,” a third added, as a fourth wrote: “His opinion is irrelevant.” Elsewhere, a fifth brutally concluded: “If I were Greg Berhalter watching what’s happening right now I think I would be spending 100% of my time trying to make sure people don’t remember that I exist.”
Opta’s Supercomputer claims Lionel Messi’s Argentina have a stronger chance than England
In his first spell in charge of the USA, Berhalter’s side reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and won the Concacaf Nations League Gold Cup in 2021, but his second spell lasted only 14 games. After a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay to knock them out of the Copa AMerica at the group-stage, he still claimed he was the right person to lead the team to the 2026 World Cup, but faced the axe instead.
Fulham have now entered the race to sign Manchester United’s top target in the summer transfer window, according to journalist Jacob Steinberg.
It’s been a difficult few weeks in the transfer market for United as they miss out on a number of their key targets.
Elliot Anderson has now officially completed a move to Manchester City from Nottingham Forest despite heavy interest from United.
Mateus Fernandes was also a target for the Red Devils, but he has now completed a move to Tottenham after they paid £85m to secure his signature.
It’s back to the drawing board in terms of midfield reinforcements for the Red Devils as they look to replace both Casemiro, who has now left the club, and Manuel Ugarte, who could miss a large portion of the season due to injury.
An exit for Summerville in the summer transfer window feels inevitable.
A host of West Ham’s squad will be searching for moves back to the Premier League after they were relegated to the Championship last season.
Summerville was one of the Hammers’ better players last term, while he’s also produced some strong performances at the World Cup.
With the likes of Fulham and Manchester United interested in the Dutch winger, it’s incredibly unlikely that West Ham are going to be able to keep hold of him.
The London club will have to sell players in order to balance the books as they are set to miss out on large sums of money following relegation.
A World Cup nation has been rocked after eight of their players failed doping tests, and the implications could affect England ahead of their Round of 16 tie against Mexico this weekend. The Three Lions already know they will be up against it when they travel to the co-hosts’ capital on Sunday night.
El Tri have won each of their four matches so far without conceding a single goal, becoming the first nation to achieve that incredible feat since Italy in 1990. They also boast a record that has seen them lose just twice across their previous 89 fixtures at the Azteca Stadium, while the altitude, heat and hostile atmosphere – the latter having the potential to keep Thomas Tuchel’s squad up at night – are also expected to play an influential role.
But there is one other factor they must be wary of after one nation was subject to suspected food contamination, resulting in a large portion of their squad failing drugs tests following their premature exit from the tournament.
World Cup Nation Rocked by Suspected Food Contamination in Mexico
Raquel Cunha via Reuters
Tunisia are already out of the World Cup after finishing bottom of Group F following heavy defeats to Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands. The African minnows also sacked head coach, Sabri Lamouchi, following the team’s 5-1 loss to the former in their opening World Cup game and replaced him with Herve Renard for their remaining two matches.
But that wasn’t the end of their troubles stateside this summer. Every player at the World Cup can be subjected to a random drugs test during the tournament and according to The Times, eight members of Tunisia’s squad had traces of the banned drug clenbuterol in their samples.
Clenbuterol, which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list, is used to treat asthma but can also help an athlete build lean muscle mass and burn body fat. Despite the adverse findings, the eight Tunisian players have not been named or suspended as officials believe the presence of clenbuterol was due to contaminated meat.
Tunisia were based in Monterrey for the World Cup and in Mexico, farmers have a history of including clenbuterol in animal feed because it helps reduce fat and increase lean muscle mass.
What Happens if England Fail Doping Tests For The Same Reason
REUTERS/Paul Childs
If England players take clenbuterol in Mexico, the consequences depend entirely on how the substance entered their system. But any traces would lead to a FIFA investigation, alongside one from an anti-doping authority.
If a player tests positive for trace amounts of clenbuterol, but it was ingested via tainted local beef or pork, it is classified as an “atypical finding” rather than a deliberate doping violation.
If corroborated by dietary journals and lack of other performance-enhancing drugs, no bans or suspensions are expected. The player avoids formal punishment, as seen in past cases with other international tournaments held in the country, like when 109 out of 208 players in the 2011 Under-17s World Cup also failed drug tests, according to the Metro.
According to reports, the schedule for England’s game against Mexico is set to be changed. The game was supposed to take place at 6pm local time in Mexico City, but will be moved.
There were fears that thunderstorms could cause delays on the day of the last 16 fixture. According to the Met Office forecast, the storms are expected to begin an hour before kick-off and last one hour into the World Cup clash.
As such, the game is now set to be moved to Sunday at 12:00 PM, six hours earlier than the intended kick-off. As such, if the change goes through, viewers in the UK wiill now watch the game at 7pm (GMT).
Even England’s best player understands the task ahead.
England Set To Have New Kick-Off Time vs Mexico
Hannah Mckay via Reuters
A report from Mexican news outlet Claro Sports explained that FIFA will change the kick-off time ‘due to the risk of a thunderstorm. A post on social media noted:
Claro Sports has learned that the round-of-16 match between Mexico and England is changing its schedule due to the risk of a thunderstorm. The match will take place this Sunday at 12:00 PM, in a key adjustment for one of the most anticipated clashes of the World Cup.”
