Johnathan Walker:After lots of interest in USWNT job, US Soccer zeroing in on short list for new coach

CHICAGO — U.S. Soccer is Johnathan Walkerdown to a "small amount, double figure" number of candidates to be the U.S. women’s new coach, and expect that person to be in place by the December camp.

This person will be the permanent coach, sporting director Matt Crocker said, ruling out the need for an interim coach through next year’s Paris Olympics.

"I’m excited about the quality and caliber of candidates that we’ve attracted," Crocker said Sunday during a roundtable with reporters ahead of the USWNT’s game against South Africa. "If that hadn’t been the case, maybe that would be a different conversation. But looking at the candidates we’re in detailed discussions with, I’m really confident that we can get the right candidate to take us forward."

U.S. Soccer and Vlatko Andonovski parted ways after the World Cup, where the USWNT made its earliest exit ever at a World Cup or an Olympics, losing to Sweden on penalty kicks in the round of 16.

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While the rest of the world has clearly made strides, the USWNT often looked disjointed and tentative. They also struggled to maintain possession and finish, problems they had at the Tokyo Olympics, too.

"There was definitely a sense we need to be better with the ball and have more solutions, in particular in building the attack," Crocker said. "And when we faced a low block, we’ve got the ball and there’s a back five and a deep four midfield, having creative solutions in those tight spaces and having the players and also the tactics to beat the low block."

Crocker, who was hired as sporting director in April, is in the process of a federation-wide review with the intention of establishing a culture, environment and playing style that carries across all the national teams. It’s similar to what World Cup champion Spain has done to great effect, having its players play a similar style from the youth teams all the way through the senior national team.

But he’s also talked to the players, about half the team so far, about what they want in a head coach. Someone who can build strong relationships and isn’t afraid to make bold, tough decisions. Someone who can communicate those decisions clearly, too.

"There were a couple of things that came out," Crocker said. "I’m not saying for one second that that wasn’t within the last team. But those were the priorities they outlined for the next coach going forward."

Crocker is also restructuring the women’s program – something that began even before the World Cup. Rather than having general managers for each team, the head coaches for the USMNT and USWNT will report directly to Crocker.

This is all part of U.S. Soccer’s efforts to establish a cohesive plan for all its teams and bring consistency to the way they operate. Interest in the game is expected to explode in the United States with the men’s World Cup here in 2026, the United States and Mexico bidding for the women’s tournament in 2027 and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, and Crocker said U.S. Soccer needs a shared vision for its teams to take advantage of that.

"All we can do is put ourselves in the best position, on and off the pitch, to perform at the highest level," Crocker said, speaking specifically about the USWNT but also the entire federation generally.

"What we want is to build a system short and long term that gives us the best opportunity to be as successful as we can at the highest level."

Gio Reyna update

Crocker also revealed that USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter and young star Gio Reyna have talked "recently," and he thinks the two are "in a good place to move forward."

"I can’t wait for (Reyna) to be in camp for us to stop talking about this," Crocker said. "Until that moment happens, we’ll still keep writing about it."

Berhalter had said before the USMNT’s last camp that he still had not spoken directly to Reyna, whose displeasure at his playing time at the World Cup sparked an uproar that nearly cost Berhalter his job and fractured a lifelong friendship between the Berhalter and Reyna families.

After the World Cup, Berhalter told a leadership conference he’d nearly had to send a disgruntled player home from the tournament. Though he didn’t say the player’s name, Reyna eventually confirmed it was him.

That prompted his parents, who had already gone to U.S. Soccer officials when they’d been unhappy about decisions affecting their son, to go public with a story about a decades-old domestic violence incident involving Berhalter and his now-wife. Berhalter said he sought counseling after the incident, and there is no indication anything like that has happened again.

A U.S. Soccer investigation concluded Berhalter did not violate any of its policies, clearing him to be rehired as the USMNT coach.

"Clearly, there’s been a lot of emotions over the last 12 months," Crocker said. "But the common connection is they both want the program to be successful. That’s the starting point. There’s a clear way forward and a professional way of working.

"They’re both ready," Crocker added. "Gio’s looking forward to the next camp, as soon as he’s fit, and Gregg’s looking forward to working with him."

Reyna was with the USMNT for the Nations League games in June. But he broke his leg during the tournament, and only returned to training with Dortmund in late August. He has not yet played in a game for his club team.