Gregg Berhalter Slammed For Bad Christian Pulisic Take Ahead Of World Cup

The USMNT is one win away from the World Cup quarterfinals for just the second time in the modern era. Christian Pulisic and company took care of business on Wednesday, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to punch their ticket to the Round of 16.

It wasn’t easy. The U.S. played more than 30 minutes a man down after Folarin Balogun picked up a controversial red card. They got the job done anyway.

Berhalter Can’t Help Himself

Mauricio Pochettino has turned into something of a cult hero among USMNT fans since taking over in 2024. That’s not exactly a surprise, given who he replaced.

Gregg Berhalter got fired after a rough 2022 World Cup in Qatar, followed by an even rougher Copa America run on home soil in 2024. Two disappointing tournaments in a row will do that to a manager.

And yet, Berhalter still can’t resist weighing in on Pulisic and the national team; fans are letting him know exactly how they feel about it.

Pulisic played fine against Bosnia. He wasn’t the difference-maker he’s been in other appearances for the national team, though, and Berhalter has a theory about why.

According to the former manager, it’s a tactics problem. He thinks the U.S. isn’t doing enough to get their best player the ball in the right spots.

Gregg Berhalter says the U.S. isn’t setting up Christian Pulisic well enough for success ????

“I don’t think there was enough intention to get Christian the ball in those (wide) positions.”@RobStoneONFOX | #USMNT pic.twitter.com/ujh2dOqYPR

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) July 2, 2026

“I don’t think there was enough intention to get Christian the ball in those (wide) positions,” Berhalter said, part of a broader critique of Pochettino’s tactical approach.

Longtime fans weren’t exactly clamoring for his take.

“Yes, let’s ask the guy who was fired for being bad at his job what we should’ve done,” one fan wrote on X.

“Gregg, respectfully, you had 6 years with this group and failed. Poch is doing something with this group you could never do. Let him cook,” said another.

There’s some truth buried in both reactions.

Berhalter is, at best, an imperfect messenger here. His own track record as USMNT manager speaks for itself, and it doesn’t exactly lend credibility to his critiques of someone else’s system.

There’s also a bigger point being missed. Pulisic doesn’t need to be the sole focal point of this attack anymore, and that’s a good thing.

Players like Balogun and Malik Tillman have taken some of that pressure off him. The offense doesn’t run through one guy anymore, it runs through a system, and that system is working.

Sure, getting Pulisic the ball in space is never a bad idea. But he’s operating within something bigger than himself now. If that means playing decoy sometimes to open things up for teammates, so be it. That’s what winning teams do.