Acosta, Klopas on USMNT coaching search: "You have to make tough choices"

It has been one week since U.S. Soccer announced the departure of head coach Gregg Berhalter following the USMNT’s dismal Copa América showing, and the search for a new coach to lead the team into the 2026 World Cup is well underway.

Unsurprisingly, the federation's gamble to cut short Berhalter’s tenure and change horses two years out from the biggest tournament in American soccer history has sparked discussion nationally.

“I know it's about results, I totally understand that,” said Chicago Fire head coach Frank Klopas, who went to the 1995 Copa América with the U.S. alongside Berhalter, “but for me, I believe Gregg did a great job. He took a team that didn't qualify (in 2018), talked about creating a culture and identity, and he did.”

“You look at the coach, but for me, the players have to take a lot of responsibility and ownership [for the Copa América failure] because all the players that we've talked about never really stepped up and performed. When things go bad, you point the finger at one guy, and it's always the coach.”

Chicago Fire midfielder Kellyn Acosta was a crucial part of Berhalter’s first cycle, appearing in 32 matches between 2020 and 2022. The now 28-year-old played in 13 of 14 World Cup qualifiers and was a part of the final squad in Qatar, making essential defensive contributions off the bench against Wales and Iran. Most recently, he was invited to a U.S. camp as an alternate for the CONCACAF Nations League finals in Dallas earlier this year.

“I enjoyed my time with Gregg,” Acosta told MIR97 Media on Tuesday. “We had a bump in the road early on and I was out of the team for a couple of years, but he's always been solid with me and I honestly think the guys love him. Obviously, the results weren't there and it caused the federation to make a decision and that's the way that they went, but I think from our standpoint, we wish Gregg well, we love him, and I know wherever he's going to go in the future, he's going to do well.”

While most fans and media turned on Berhalter after a humiliating group stage exit from the Copa América, the debate over who his replacement should be has been far more divisive. The man who was once seen as the perfect fit for the job, longtime Fire midfielder and ex-Leeds boss Jesse Marsch, is off the table after he accepted the Canadian Men’s National Team post earlier this year.

Despite only taking charge in May, Marsch led the Canucks to a Copa América semifinal where they came up short against world champion Argentina, a stark contrast to the Americans’ early exit at the hands of Panama. Klopas feels that Marsch wasn’t given a fair shot when he interviewed for the U.S. job last spring in a search that ultimately resulted in the rehiring of Berhalter.

“They were going through a process, and Jesse was one of the main frontrunners,” Klopas said. “I didn't feel that they treated him the right way. It's disappointing. I'm close with Jesse, I know Gregg, so if they were looking to go in a different way at that point, whether I agree or not, I felt Jesse could have done a great job at that moment, and they didn't deal with the situation in the right way.”

So, with the popular Marsch out of the picture and coaching the U.S.’ northern neighbors, who should be the man to lead the Stars and Stripes toward the 2026 World Cup? Numerous names – both domestic and international – have been discussed, ranging from Wilfried Nancy and Jim Curtin to Hervé Renard, Luis de la Fuente, and Gareth Southgate.

As a player, Klopas was heavily involved with the USMNT in the early 1990s under then-head coach Bora Milutinović. The legendary Serbian coach brought a 27-year-old Klopas to the 1994 World Cup as a member of his 22-man squad; the U.S. vastly outperformed expectations in what was the most recent such tournament hosted on home soil, famously beating heavily-favored Colombia 2-1 in the group stage before narrowly losing to eventual champion Brazil 1-0 in the round of 16.

In the five years under Berhalter, the U.S. failed to record any such “signature wins,” so as the team hopes to make a real splash in 2026 and go deep into the tournament, it must find a coach who can get the most out of its players. Milutinović did just that and, even today frequently receives praise from his former players who made up that legendary 1994 team, including Klopas.

“Bora came in as a guy that had tremendous international experience,” Klopas said. “He'd been to the World Cup before, knew how to manage big-time players. He had a very easy personality, he got along with the players really well, he cared and believed a lot in the group.”

“The situation is different now (to in 1994). You have a lot more players. We have a league here that's very strong, but we have a lot of players that are playing overseas and you still have to manage those personalities…”

“I think you have to bring someone that has that experience but is also willing to make the tough decisions with players… you have to make tough choices, and sometimes, the tough choices mean the players that the fans think should be there. So someone that can make those calls but [who has] the international experience that I talked about, that's been in moments like that, in games like that, but also understands the mentality of the U.S. and the players here.”

No hire currently seems imminent, but what’s clear is that due to the sheer importance of this hire to the program, the decision-makers at U.S.S.F. will be under lots of scrutiny from fans and media alike in the coming weeks. Potential candidates, like LAFC’s Steve Cherundolo, who is widely seen as the frontrunner among MLS coaches, have been a topic of discussion around American soccer in the past seven days.

Acosta played under Cherundolo in Los Angeles for two seasons before he joined the Fire in free agency this offseason and acknowledged that the longtime USMNT and Hannover 96 defender could be a possible option for 2026.

“I love Steve,” Acosta said. “I don't think I'm in a position to say who should be the coach and who shouldn't. Steve has a lot of qualities that could make him a good candidate for sure. He’s a guy that knows the national team, played in World Cups, played in Europe. so he's had a taste of all the different aspects, but I don't make those decisions. Ultimately, it’s whoever the federation decides.”

Should the U.S. find a new coach by the next international window in September, a showdown against Canada and a hungry Jesse Marsch awaits. The timeline for a new hire is still unclear, with the next official match coming in November’s Nations League quarterfinals.

But with just 695 days – and roughly 20 national team matches – before the all-important home World Cup kicks off in Los Angeles on June 12th, 2026, the clock is ticking.