U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter was just a couple hours down the highway from his past job in Columbus, and yet he was a world away.



Coaching in a relatively small MLS market meant that Berhalter escaped serious scrutiny over his performance with the Crew. The cerebral coach earned praise for lifting Columbus to decent MLS success considering the team’s low budget, including an appearance in the 2015 MLS Cup. Now, seven months into his new job, Berhalter was feeling the pressure that comes with coaching the U.S. men’s national team.



The last two weeks have been a microcosm of the strained environment around the U.S. men’s national team. Losses to Jamaica and Venezuela in friendlies inflamed doubts about his team and his decision-making, and a 4-0 win over Guyana did little to assuage those concerns. The U.S. was still 24 hours away from a decisive win over Trinidad and Tobago that would tamper down some of the criticism, but...