USMNT to face Asian duo for Berhalter return

Gregg Berhalter’s first matches in his return as United States men’s national team coach will be exhibitions against Uzbekistan on Sept. 9 at St. Louis and Oman three days later at St. Paul, Minnesota.

Oman is ranked 73rd and Uzbekistan 74th, while the U.S. is No. 13. Many nations are unavailable for friendlies because of 2024 European Championship qualifying and the start of 2026 World Cup qualifying in South America.

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Berhalter was rehired as coach on June 16, 5 1/2 months after the U.S. Soccer Federation allowed his contract to expire. He was replaced him with an interim coach after the Reyna family notified the USSF of a three-decade-old domestic violence allegation involving Berhalter and the woman who later became his wife.

The USSF retained a law firm that said while Berhalter’s conduct “likely constituted the misdemeanor crime of assault on a female,” he did not improperly withhold information when he was hired.

Berhalter initially was hired in December 2018 after the U.S. failed to qualify for that year’s World Cup. He led the Americans to the round of 16 last year in Qatar before a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands.

The matches announced Thursday will be followed by previously announced exhibitions against No. 15 Germany on Oct. 14 at East Hartford, Connecticut, and 59th-ranked Ghana three days later at Nashville, Tennessee.