In Doha, Qatar USMNT handed a tough draw, Gregg Berhalter Aims To Eclipse Bob Bradley’s Record As Soccer Federation Plans To Use The FIFA Tourney As A Build-Up To the 2026 Edition of the World Cup Scheduled for North America
In Qatar USMNT handed a tough draw, Gregg Berhalter Aims To Eclipse Bob Bradley’s Record As Soccer Federation Plans To Use The FIFA Tourney As A Build-Up To the 2026 Edition of the World Cup Scheduled for North America
Special Report by Ben Edokpayi
#WordCount 1590
In his first appearance at a World Cup US Men’s National Team Coach Greg Berhallter plans to build on his quest to surpass the record of New Jersey native Bob Bradley, considered one of the all-time great winners in U.S. Soccer history, with a 43–12–25 record as the head coach of the U.S. National Team from 2006–2011.
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After Bradley’s departure to handle the Egyptian National team and before Greg Berhallter assumed the position in 2018, the US MNT’s was coached by David Sarachan, Jurgen Klinsmann and Bruce Arena.
And with a 33–6–8 record Berhalter is on course to match and/or eclipse Bob Bradley’s record.
But it May all depend on the team’s performance in Doha, Qatar.
At the World Cup draw in Doha, Qatar on April 1st the National team were pooled with England, Iran and Scotland or Wales in a group literally considered “The group of death” for political reasons.
“We think it’s a good group. We know every opponent in the World Cup is difficult but with England you definitely get an exciting match-up. Gareth (Southgate, England manager) and I go way back. He’s a guy I look up to and has always been there for me, given me advice. I reached out to him when I got the job and asked if he’d be interested in telling me more about international football. I looked at him as something of a mentor and since then we have stayed in touch.” said the USA coach after the draw on April 1st.
The event is scheduled from November 21- December 17 in Qatar. https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/qatar2022
In preparation for the tournament the US MNT has contacted Ghana’s Black Stars for a friendly encounter most likely in the summer.
The Black Stars qualified for Qatar with a stalemated scoreline and by virtue they scored away.
Ghana Coach Otto Addo (who played on the National Team with former Chelsea Midfielder Michael Essien) and who is a part of Marco Rose’s coaching staff at Borussia Dortmund in west Germany was appointed Ghana’s interim head coach for the World Cup qualification play-offs and was not at the draw in Qatar.
Here is what he said after their important win over the Super Eagles (The Name of the Nigerian National Team) about the influence of the Team’s Technical advisor Chris Houghton, the former Brighton and Nottingham Forest manager, on the Black Stars’s success and expectations in Qatar. “As a former Premier League coach, his experience alone speaks for himself,” Addo told Takoradi-based Empire FM, radio station.
Interestingly both the USMNT and Black Stars were absent from the Russian edition of the 2018 World Cup
Certainly a good performance by the National Team in Qatar will be the perfect scene setter for the 2026 World Cup Which Will Be Co-hosted in America, Canada and Mexico.
Click this link for more details on US National Soccer Teams.
The surprise at the draw was the absence of African giants Nigeria, who have participated in the past four tournaments. They were eliminated after a disastrous performance versus Ghana followed by riots by angry fans that destroyed the national stadium in the capital Abuja.
Africa’s most populous nation at least had some presence with the best midfielder out of Africa Jay Jay Okocha among football heroes who assisted in the draw out of the bowls.
The former Paris Saint Germaine goal merchant who starred in the midfield with Brazilian Ronaldo, was at the 1994 and 1998 edition of the World Cup, where Sunday Oliseh’s long-range strike, which secured a win over previously undefeated Spain, is remembered as one of the best goals in the tournament.
Other soccer luminaries in the Qatar draw included Cafu (Brazil), Lothar Matthäus (Germany), Adel Ahmed Malalla (Qatar), Ali Daei (Iran), Bora Milutinovic (Serbia, and former Super Eagles Coach), Rabah Madjer (Algeria — the national team coach is Djamel Belmadi) and Tim Cahill (Australia).
This is how other National Team Coaches weighed in on the Doha, Qatar Group Draw
Luis Enrique, Spain coach
“It’s a strong group if you take into consideration Germany, but we are the top seeds because of our merits and the work we have been doing in recent years. As for the rest of the group, I won’t lie to you — I know almost nothing. Now is the moment to take the time to study them and continue thinking and trusting in what we are as a team. We’re not going to change how we play whether it’s the World Cup or a friendly. Our style is very clear, and it will be very difficult to play against us.”
Kasper Hjulmand, Denmark coach
“It’s not great. We would have liked to have avoided France, because I’m pretty sure they are one of the best teams in the world with the incredible talent they have. And if Peru gets through the play-offs, we’ll face an incredibly strong team there as well. If we are to go through, we’ll need to beat Tunisia.”
Lionel Scaloni, Argentina coach
“We’re good and I believe in us. We can’t complain about the draw but neither can we be content. Mexico are rivals we know, Poland got through beating Sweden (in the UEFA play-offs) and Saudi Arabia played a very good qualifying campaign. It’s a difficult group. But I say to people: be calm and enjoy the World Cup. I hope it ends with Argentina in the final.”
John Herdman, Canada coach
“This is going to be another opportunity to show that we are a new Canada. We will go in with no fear, knowing that we’ve already built a culture on grit and determination. We will be smart, but not scared.”
Louis van Gaal, Netherlands coach
“These are opponents we know nothing about. At least I don’t, and I assume our analysts don’t either, so they have a lot of work to do in the coming period. In 2014 we ended up in the toughest group, with world champions Spain, Chile, which was the number three team in South America at the time, and Australia’s fighting team. Compared to then, this draw is more favorable — even if this time we have to play against the champions of Africa.”
Hansi Flick, Germany coach
“It’s an exciting, interesting group for all of us. Japan is a team that is always there and has many players who play in the Bundesliga, so they have high quality. Costa Rica was our opening game in 2006 and we have good memories of that. All these teams have developed and all of them have something special. We just have to make sure that we prevail.”
Murat Yakin, Switzerland coach
“These are great challenges, great teams, great nations, great players. We know Brazil and Serbia from the 2018 World Cup and we won’t make it easy for them. Cameroon also have a very interesting team. I’m happy with the draw, and we’re looking forward to facing all three opponents.”
Roberto Martinez, Belgium coach
“It’s a really challenging draw for different reasons, but there are fantastic teams to look forward to playing against. We obviously have a connection with Morocco in the national team and we’ve had players like Marouane (Fellaini) and Nacer (Chadli) who have roots in that country. Canada played a strong qualifying campaign, so that also promises to be a good match. And Croatia we know well — they didn’t become runners-up (in 2018) for nothing.”
Fernando Santos, Portugal coach
“It’s like the glass is half full and half empty. If we look at previous World Cups, Uruguay would be the favorites. If we look at the ranking, Portugal will be the favorites. But we mustn’t forget Ghana and South Korea, who have strong players. Paulo (Bento, Korea Republic’s Portuguese coach) has done a very good job for South Korean football. He’s someone I have a lot of respect for.”
Gareth Southgate, England manager
“The first two teams (USA and IR Iran) we’ve not played for quite a while. The third (Wales or the winner of Scotland-Ukraine) is a total unknown but throws up a possible British derby. We know what they’re all about! When you’re seeded, you get the advantage of missing out on those big six or seven teams. But there are some really high-ranked teams in Pot 2, the US in particular, and I know Gregg Berhalter quite well — we’ve met a couple of times and had long chats about things. They’ve got some very good players and we know what they could be capable of as a nation.”
In separate comments, this is what former British born Nigerian Striker Efan Ekoku, who starred for Norwich City and Wimbledon said on BBC Two “ From an English perspective it’s whether they can play with the authority of being one of the favorites after the last World Cup and Euros. It’s a different level now, not only for Gareth Southgate but for fans and the media. If they can deal with that there’s a great chance.”
This special report on the draw for the Qatar World Cup appeared in the Good Friday edition of the Dixon Tribune, the newspaper of record for the city of Dixon (Formerly known as Dickson.)
