When Gregg Berhalter set about preparing the United States men’s national team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, his to-do list went far beyond tactics and training sessions. Around a year before kick-off, the then head coach decided he needed interior designers. He hired architects to build a player lounge inside the Marsa Malaz Kempinski, a five-star hotel on Doha’s Pearl, and the result was anything but modest.
“It was a significant investment,” Berhalter told the Daily Mail. The finished space featured baristas, pool tables, video games, table tennis, a putting green, a barber shop and a bar serving snacks around the clock. Every World Cup match was streamed on a giant screen. All of it designed to stop players from going stale in their hotel rooms. That lounge was the glistening product of four years of work under Berhalter, whose staff had made a habit of noting what players enjoyed doing in their downtime. It was also a stark illustration of the tiny details that go into preparing a team for the biggest stage of all.
From Doha’s luxury to California’s billion-dollar base
Four years on, the stage is even bigger. The USMNT is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, and the pressure to perform at home is immense. Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine who replaced Berhalter after a disastrous Copa America campaign in 2024, is tasked with leading the side. He was appointed in August 2024, giving him two years to prepare. Pochettino brings vast club experience from Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, but this is his first World Cup as a coach. Half of his current roster have never been to one either.
The team is now training at the Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine, California – a billion-dollar headquarters that includes numerous athletic fields and is home to USL Championship side Orange County SC. Thousands of fans attended an open training session there. The players are staying in a resort on the cliffs along the California coast. Goalkeeper Matt Turner described the accommodation as “our little oasis away from home.” Christian Pulisic, when asked about the team’s culture after a send-off game against Germany, said: “Honestly, it feels like a family.”
That sentiment echoes Berhalter’s own philosophy. “We wanted to create a very close-knit group that really enjoys spending time with each other,” he explained. “Because you just don’t get to the World Cup and say, ‘Okay, now you guys become a team.’ We spent four years really creating deep bonds with the players [so] they really cared about each other.” The final goal, Berhalter said, was for players to consider their teammates “family.”
The tiny details that can make or break a World Cup
But World Cups are not won on friendship alone. Berhalter’s 2022 squad – the second youngest of any nation with an average age of barely 25 – reached the round of 16 before losing 3-1 to the Netherlands. In the aftermath, Berhalter reflected on the small, sometimes overlooked factors that had shaped the tournament. He believes those lessons are vital for Pochettino and his players heading into the 2026 campaign.
“The focus and the intensity of matches is something to be aware of,” Berhalter said. “I remember telling our young group: ‘These games are a different speed, a different intensity than we’ve been used to.’ And when they played the first game, they realized that.” He warned against getting caught up in adrenaline. “Even though there’s massive implications, you have to be calm, you have to be focused on executing. You can’t get caught up in the standings or where you are in the group.”
The physical toll was striking. After the USA’s 0-0 draw with England in Qatar, Berhalter heard whispers that their rivals had produced “the highest physical output in Gareth Southgate’s tenure… and we outran them.” Pushing bodies to the limit became a theme. A few days later, the USA faced Iran in a do-or-die group match – “high emotions,” Berhalter recalled – and won 1-0 to reach the knockout stage. But the turnaround was brutal. “How do you turn that around quickly to now perform against [the Netherlands]?” he asked. He isn’t sure his team found the right answer.
The defeat taught two lessons. One was tactical: the USMNT liked to be aggressive and physical, particularly without the ball. But against the Netherlands, they fell 2-0 down in the first half. Berhalter now accepts that perhaps his team needed to temper their intensity, to be “more careful” and stay in the fight until the final stages. The other lesson was about timing – a detail that underlined how tiny things can impact the biggest games. “All our group games were at 10pm and the Holland game was at 6pm,” Berhalter recalled. “That threw the schedule off a little bit.”
The shift in kick-off time disrupted routines, a reminder that even a few hours can affect preparation, sleep patterns and recovery. Berhalter is confident this group will have “learned from that experience” heading into a World Cup where, he says, reaching the quarterfinals would represent success. The USMNT has made it to the last eight only once since 1930.
Yet the fragility of a team under pressure was also exposed off the pitch. Midfielder Gio Reyna was almost sent home from Qatar for “clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field,” according to Berhalter. The incident escalated into a public feud involving Reyna’s parents and an investigation by US Soccer. It was proof, Berhalter noted, that a team is never more fragile than at a World Cup. “Every nation teeters on the brink of chaos,” he said. Reyna has since stated he has moved past the controversy and is focused on the current tournament, despite limited recent game time at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The 2026 squad, with an average age of 26 years and 332 days for the opening match, is the fifth youngest USMNT World Cup roster. Half of the players were part of the 2022 squad, tying the record for most returnees between consecutive World Cups. Key goalscorers from Qatar – Pulisic, Tim Weah and Haji Wright – are all back. Under Pochettino, 22 different players have scored for the USMNT, with Malik Tillman, Wright and Folarin Balogun each netting three.
Pochettino has spoken about the need to balance the enjoyment of soccer with a ruthless competitive mindset. He noted a cultural difference, saying the US tends to emphasise “performance and enjoyment,” but his goal is to win. That ambition will be tested from the opening whistle: the USA face Paraguay on Friday, June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California (9 p.m. ET), followed by Australia (June 17 in Seattle) and Türkiye (June 25 back at SoFi).
Berhalter, now head coach of MLS side Chicago Fire, will be watching. He is part of “Coaches Corner,” a new 10-episode series on FanDuel alongside two of his predecessors, Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley. The show, hosted by Rob Stone, offers match analysis, tactical breakdowns and insider stories from men who have navigated the same pressures. “Fans typically hear analysis from former players,” Berhalter said. “This show offers the perspective of people who have had to make the decisions, manage the pressure, and prepare teams for the world’s biggest stage.”
