Gregg Berhalter on Son Sebastian's World Cup Goal: 'Really Special'

Former United States men's national team player and coach Gregg Berhalter expressed immense pride after watching his son, Sebastian Berhalter, score his first FIFA World Cup goal. The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder found the net for the USA in a 3-2 group-stage defeat to Türkiye at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, a moment witnessed by 32 family members at Los Angeles Stadium.

A Family Affair on the Scoresheet

The USA's scoring charts at the 2026 World Cup have a distinct family theme. Three players who have scored for the Stars and Stripes are sons of famous athletes. In the opening 4-1 victory against Paraguay, playmaker Gio Reyna—son of four-time World Cup participant Claudio Reyna—scored a late goal. In the 2-0 win over Australia, full-back Alex Freeman, whose father is former NFL star Antonio Freeman, secured the three points. To close out the group stage, Sebastian Berhalter scored one goal and provided an assist in the narrow loss to Türkiye.

Sebastian's Special Moment

After leveling the score at 2-2 with his maiden World Cup goal, Sebastian immediately looked to his family in the stands and blew them a kiss. "They have done so much to get me in the position that I'm at and I'm so thankful for them. That was a special moment," Sebastian told FIFA after the match. Gregg Berhalter, who was seated in a different section from the main family group, watched with immense pride. "To see your son performing at a high level is always amazing no matter what the game is. But when he does it at the World Cup stage, which is the biggest stage in soccer, is just something to behold... it's really special," Gregg said.

Pride Amid Disappointment

Despite the personal milestone, Sebastian's focus remained on the team's result. Gregg noted, "It says a lot about him that his feeling was also disappointment that they didn't win the game, that they ended up losing the game late on. I think no matter how much of a personal high he had, he was also really disappointed that the team didn't win that night." The elder Berhalter, who coached the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup and is now with the Chicago Fire, had to leave immediately after the match for a red-eye flight back to training. He acknowledged the global platform the World Cup provides: "The special thing about a World Cup is that the moment you are playing the whole world is tuned into those games so you can make a huge impact in a short period of time."

Looking Ahead to the Knockout Stage

The USA advanced to the knockout stage after finishing second in their group. Gregg Berhalter offered his assessment of the team's upcoming opponent, noting that they entered the tournament via a UEFA play-off and are accustomed to high-pressure games. "They have already played a host nation [a group stage match with Canada] so they know what that atmosphere is going to be like. I expect them to be very compact and very physical but we have some advantages over them. We are very athletic and very mobile and those are things that are going to play to our advantage," he said.