The United States Men’s National team is on to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The USMNT edged past Costa Rica in penalty kicks, as NYCFC product Matt Freese saved the day. He was the real story of the match, but for a moment, it was former manager Gregg Berhalter who stole the show. The much–maligned former manager was in attendance in Minneapolis as his son, Sebastian, made his fourth career appearance for the national team.
And naturally, with the current manager, Mauricio Pochettino, facing a ton of scrutiny himself, the cameras were bound to show the former one — who was literally in the stands — once or twice. But Gregg was there to support his 24-year-old son. And had Sebastian nailed his PK, this is a nothing burger.
But he didn’t. Sebastian sent the ball sailing over the crossbar despite Keylor Navas guessing right.
The camera immediately cut to his father’s reaction.
And while that rubbed some the wrong way, Taylor Twellman was okay with it.
Fox took some heat for the camera shot, but Stu Holden was quick to clarify it was the world feed, not Fox Sports. Every major tournament uses a central host broadcaster, and all networks share the same feed. This one just happened to catch the former USMNT manager watching his son miss a crucial penalty.
In the end, it didn’t matter. Damion Downs buried the winner, and the U.S. advanced.
But it did matter in the sense that it sparked a broader response from Twellman, who pushed back on the sentiment that showing Gregg Berhalter in that moment was somehow out of bounds.
Twellman, who was on the call for Sunday Night Soccer on Apple TV+ during the quarterfinal, weighed in later that night. Like Holden, he pointed out that it was the world feed — not Fox — making the call to show Gregg Berhalter. And when you’re the son of a former national team coach, that kind of attention is going to find you.
And it found Sebastian enough to make this a whole thing.
Should it even be a thing? That’s entirely up to the beholder. But in our eyes, and Twellman’s, too, there was nothing wrong with showing Gregg there. Sports are emotional, messy, and deeply human, especially on a stage this big. To cut away or shy from showing a father watching his son face such pressure would feel artificial, almost disrespectful to the narrative unfolding in real time.
Broadcasts live and breathe in these moments of vulnerability and tension. It’s what makes them compelling. And yes, the optics are complicated given Gregg’s history with the team, but that only adds layers, not reasons to look away.
The cameras captured the moment of a young player carrying the weight of expectation, and a former coach now watching from the stands. That’s real. And that’s worth seeing.