USA boss Gregg Berhalter proud of his team as England's World Cup rivals rescue draw in El Salvador

Seb Sternik
15 June 2022

United States head coach Gregg Berhalter and his staff

England and Italy were not the only ones who endured a tough night on the international stage, as the United States were held by a team ranked 74th in the world.

While World Cup hosts Qatar are set to greet the Americans with immaculate facilities, that's far from what they got at Estadio Cuscatlan in El Salvador as the hosts capitalised on the muddy surface to earn a 1-1 draw in the Nations League clash.

Jordan Morris scored a stoppage time equaliser as the Americans avoided what would have been an embarrassing defeat just five months away from the start of the World Cup.

Despite the result, USA manager Gregg Berhalter was proud of the way his team dealt with the conditions.

He told mlssoccer.com: "As we watched the weather come in yesterday and the rain start pouring down, we knew it was going to be challenging from a field conditions standpoint.

"We went to the stadium yesterday, trained at it and saw the conditions, saw how it was gradually getting worse and knew at game time it wasn't going to be good.

"And I can only say that really proud of the guys, the way they embraced that. They didn't hesitate, they didn't complain, they didn't complain yesterday in training, they didn't complain today in the game, they just went about their business."

A wet and wild night in San Salvador. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/NExlYfa2Cs
— USMNT (@USMNT) June 15, 2022

The Unites States will kick off their World Cup campaign against Wales on November 21. They will follow that with a game against England four days later at the Al Bayt Stadium.

Berhalter believes his team is building a strong togetherness ahead of the tournament, saying: "Although we didn't get the win, I think it's a good takeaway and a good end to the June camp and really, really brought the guys together in a good way.

"The group grows with moments like this. After the game, Jordan Morris walks into the locker room, everyone starts to cheer. Everyone's uniform is a dark brown colour, the shoes are a mess, the staff is all dirty. And this is what builds teams.

Good night, America. pic.twitter.com/XfzEdXWYY8
— USMNT (@USMNT) June 15, 2022

"Every camp we're making steps, and as a group we felt like we made steps to progress. Going to a tough environment like that we played in today and getting a result is always positive.

"But every time we can get together as a group, it's just continuing to work on our identity, our style of play, how we know we can play. And I think that's important because … there's not a lot of opportunities left before the World Cup. So every time we get a chance to be together as a group, it's really important."

The United States enjoyed an unbeaten international break as they enjoyed victories over Morocco and Grenada, while also playing out a goalless draw against Uruguay.