Search for next USMNT coach is first item on Matt Crocker’s agenda as U.S. Soccer sporting director

U.S. Soccer officially announced Matt Crocker as its new sporting director in a news conference Tuesday. Crocker spent seven years with England’s Football Association as head of development teams and strategic and cultural lead, helping to establish the “England DNA,” which is the playing and coaching styles in national team set-ups. “Matt has great experience in developing talent, implementing a clear and consistent playing philosophy from youth to senior teams and implementing coaching programming,” U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said. From Southampton academy manager to US Soccer’s new sporting director In regards to the men’s national team job, which has been vacant since Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired at the end of 2022, Crocker said he hopes to have a coach in place, “as soon as possible.” Crocker said there are “key factors” he is looking for in the next coach, which includes moving forward with a team that is “aggressive, forward-thinking” and “fearless.” He declined to go into details on any individual candidates when asked directly about Berhalter and American manager Jesse Marsch, though he said Berhalter did, “a fantastic job.” “I’m really, really keen to make sure that we produce a coach that can replicate and continue to drive forward some of those behaviors in terms of creating that aggressive, forward-thinking team,” Crocker said. “I also know that there’s some fantastic work that’s going on in the men’s senior team, the women’s senior team, extended national teams and obviously the youth programs both on the boys and the girls side,” Crocker said.