McKennie and Berhalter: A Reunion Ahead of World Cup Challenge

By the time Weston McKennie and Sebastian Berhalter stepped in front of the microphones at the Chicago Fire training facility, the subtext of the day was already written.

One player wanted to see an old coach who helped shape his career. The other wanted to see his father.

Gregg Berhalter, the man who guided the USMNT out of the wreckage of the 2018 qualifying failure and into a new era, was somewhere in the building. McKennie, now a seasoned Juventus midfielder, still speaks about him less like a former boss and more like a confidant.

"He's a great person, and I'm not just saying this because [Sebastian is here]," McKennie said with a laugh, glancing at his teammate.

He didn’t stop at the usual polite praise. McKennie talked about going to Berhalter with problems “on and off the field,” about crying in front of him, about the difficult stretches and the high points they rode through together. For a player who has grown into one of the leaders of this generation, the emotional thread is still raw.

"It'll be really nice to be able to see him around here, hopefully, today," he said, looking ahead to a brief reunion. He expects advice, too — about the upcoming game, about the World Cup, about the moments that define a career. “That's just the type of guy he is.”

From “Babies” to Men

Gregg Berhalter’s bond with this group goes far beyond McKennie and his own son. When he took over after the 2018 collapse, he inherited potential, not products. Teenagers, not finished pros.

"I think one thing we have to remember is when I got them, they were young, they were babies," he said. "They were just learning what it takes to be a professional athlete."

Now he looks out and sees fathers, veterans, players who understand the grind and the responsibility that comes with a national team shirt.

"Now I see them, and they're men! They have kids, and they're adults, and they know exactly what it means to maintain themselves as professionals. It's an amazing thing to see.

"I just greeted them now, and was like, 'I can't believe it, they're grown up!'" he added. "I think they'll be ready for this moment. The one thing I know about this group is that they step up to these moments."

That’s the standard this summer: not just to compete, but to prove that this so‑called “golden generation” has actually arrived.

Pochettino’s Dilemma and the Richards Frustration

While the emotions swirled around old relationships, the current man in charge, Mauricio Pochettino, wrestled with a far more practical problem: how to get his squad to a World Cup in one piece and in form.

Chris Richards trained with the group on Friday, moving freely, part of every drill. On the surface, he looked ready. He will not play this weekend.

Pochettino confirmed it and did not hide his irritation at how the defender’s return has dragged.

"When we decided the roster, we thought that Chris could play the final of the Conference [League] because we had designed the roster previously," he said. The plan was clear: minutes in the European final against Rayo Vallecano, then Senegal, then this weekend.

It never materialized.

"After, today, in the end, the timelines were lengthening and [it] angers me a bit," he admitted. "I’m not happy because we know Chris Richards is an important player, of course, we all know it, but also when I was saying is based on the information that we had, and sometimes there wasn't clarity."

So now they face a familiar calculation. Richards might be available by the time the World Cup starts, but he will have gone roughly a month without real competition. Does a coach gamble on talent, or on rhythm?

"In the end, we can hope that Chris can be there," Pochettino said. "But, in the end, we’re going to find ourselves coming without competing [for a month] and after we have to make the decision if he’s in form to compete or not. There’s not a lot of time in the World Cup."

That compressed timeline leaves almost no room for error.

No Win in the Court of Social Media

Fitness questions extend beyond Richards, as they always do before a major tournament. Pochettino joked when pressed for specifics, insisting that, overall, the group is fine. Still, Saturday’s match sits in that awkward window: too close to risk everything, too important to treat as a throwaway.

He knows the trap. Rest players and you risk rust. Play them and you risk injury. Either way, the verdict arrives instantly on phones around the world.

"The haters today with social media, they will never agree if you play normally with the players or if you play with the first team for the World Cup," he said. "If nothing happens, no one is going to say anything, good decision, but if something does happen, they say I have no clue!

"It's impossible to know what we need to do. That's why, from the beginning, it is to prepare in the best way that all the players have the possibility to play or to compete."

That’s the tightrope: sharpen the team, protect the team, and somehow ignore the noise.

Germany Again, but Different Stakes

The schedule offers no soft landings. After beating Senegal, the U.S. now face Germany, another heavyweight European test that Pochettino has actively sought.

"We wanted to play the best in preparation for this World Cup," he said. He pointed to meetings with Portugal and Belgium as vital lessons — not just in what worked, but in what absolutely cannot be repeated.

"They allowed us to improve and to learn what we don't need to do and how we need to approach it again."

Now comes Germany, a “beautiful team” in Pochettino’s words, and a familiar one. The U.S. lost 3-1 to them in October 2023 in Connecticut, a match remembered mainly for Christian Pulisic’s strike and a stark reminder of the level required. Fourteen of the 26 players in this current squad were involved that day.

McKennie doesn’t dwell on the details of Germany’s lineup from that night. What stuck with him was the balance of the contest.

"I think that game showed, obviously, the quality that they have, but also the quality that we have as well," he said. "We played a good game, and we had the potential to win that game as well."

This time, the context is sharper. A World Cup looms. Spots, roles, and reputations are on the line.

"We go into this game with a lot of players that haven't played against them yet and players that have," McKennie added. "So I think the new energy, the new style, the new circumstances in general leading into a World Cup, I think it's going to be a great test for us and I think we go out there with the same mentality that we always go out with."

McKennie’s Form and the Question of Role

McKennie arrives in camp carrying something every coach covets: club confidence. Nine goals and six assists across Serie A and the Champions League speak to a midfielder who has found end product at Juventus, even if the club itself fell just short of Champions League qualification, missing the top four by two points.

Individually, he is in a good place. Collectively, the U.S. are a mix — some players flying, some searching. The World Cup tends to ignore that. Form can vanish, or appear, in a single afternoon.

McKennie understands the dynamic, but he also knows what his own rhythm brings.

"I think any player can say that coming out of club form and being in good club form does a lot, because it's the confidence that you bring, it's the desire, the want, the everything," he said.

Where that energy gets deployed is one of the key tactical questions. Deeper in midfield, where he can break up play and drive forward? Or higher up, closer to goal, where those Juventus numbers hint at more damage?

McKennie shrugs off the positional debate.

"I think the system that our coach has here, the type of player I am is a player that adapts," he said. "I'm the type of player who can play many roles, so I'm more of a guy that, wherever he needs me to do, I'll do whatever I'm called upon for.

"I try to step up and just be the best I can for the team. I think that's one thing that this team does have: no one's selfish. Everyone's here for the right reasons. Everyone's here to get a victory for the U.S."

He admits Juventus “didn't finish where we wanted to finish,” but the belief hasn’t dimmed. He brings that with him, into a dressing room that has grown up together, into a camp where an old coach drops by and marvels at how his “babies” have become men.

Germany await. The World Cup waits behind them. The only real question now is whether this group, forged over years and framed by expectations, is finally ready to turn all that history into something tangible.