Gregg Berhalter watched his son make a first World Cup start and walk away with a goal and an assist. Sebastian Berhalter did it in a loss to Turkey, and the U.S. still moves on to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 on Wednesday.
Sebastian Berhalter Starts
Berhalter made his World Cup debut earlier this month, but the third group-stage game was the one that put him in the starting lineup. He had already come off the bench in the U.S. team's first two group-play games, then finished this one with one goal and one assist.
That made him the only American with a goal and assist in the same World Cup game in the last 96 years. It also pushed his World Cup line past his father's in one narrow category, even if the night ended in defeat.
Mauricio Pochettino's Call-Up
The path to that moment was late. Mauricio Pochettino gave him his first national team call-up in the spring of 2025, about 11 months after Gregg Berhalter was sacked as coach. Since then, Sebastian Berhalter has made 16 appearances for the U.S. and three appearances in the World Cup.
Before his debut, he said, “It’s ridiculous” and, “Before the game, I just kept chuckling to myself, like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ Literally I couldn’t believe it. Playing for my country, it’s the best feeling in the world.” That fits the curve of a player who needed three MLS teams, one MLS Cup and three Canadian Championships before he got his first shot with the national team.
Gregg Berhalter And Bosnia
The family side of the story has reached another layer. Sebastian Berhalter was 13 months old when his father played in the World Cup for the first time, 5 when Gregg was called back to the World Cup, and he went to Qatar four years ago to watch him coach the U.S. to the round of 16.
Gregg Berhalter said, “I think about it all the time,” and, “I never could have picked him.” That is the complication around the rise: the call-up came after the coaching change, not through a family decision, and it put Sebastian on a roster path that now leads to Bosnia and Herzegovina in Santa Clara on Wednesday. He called that opponent, “They’re a good team,” and said, “It’s a round of 32, so do or die. I think you play every game like it’s a knockout game. For us it’s, it’s keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
The next step is simple for the U.S. and for Berhalter. One strong night in the group stage is now behind him, and the round of 32 is the test that decides whether this debut becomes a footnote or the start of a bigger role.
