QATAR 2022 IS JUST THE START FOR AMERICAN SOCCER

HEAD COACH GREGG BERHALTER HOPES HIS YOUNG TEAM CAN HELP CHANGE THE WAY U.S. PLAYERS ARE VIEWED AROUND THE WORLD

- Gregg Berhalter

EVERYTHING IS MAGNIFIED AT THE E World Cup, that's the beautiful thing about it. The intensity, every play and its outcome is enhanced. Such small things can make such a big difference. As a player at the tournament, you're focused on yourself, and then it's about how you can help the team. As a coach, it's the exact opposite. You're focused on everyone else.

Even as a player I rarely took time to let the magnitude of a World Cup sink in. In the 2002 World Cup we lost to Germany in the quarter finals, which was the furthest the team has gone in the modern era. We came back and people on the streets of New York were stopping me. That's when I finally realized the enormity of what we had just done. But when you're doing it, you just rely on your training.

Being Your 'Authentic Self'

FOR COACHING, IT'S VERY SIMILAR. There's always learning from experience, and from people who you were impressed with. In my case, I've learned from Bruce Arena, who coached the U.S. men's national team at the time I played.

He galvanized the group and got the whole team pulling in one direction. I think that was a big part of our success in 2002. But as a coach, you also need to be your authentic self, and that is when you can get your best work. If you're trying to be someone else, it becomes challenging.

There is a core group that have been through a lot with the USMNT over the past three-and-a-half years.

It includes some of the younger guys. Tyler Adams, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Yunus Musah, are some of those players who, at a young age, we will rely on for performance. Antonee Robinson is another mainstay of the group.