{"id":904985,"date":"2026-05-11T07:13:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/sebastian-berhalter-furthers-world-cup-dream-in-supporters-shield-battle-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T07:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:13:16","slug":"sebastian-berhalter-furthers-world-cup-dream-in-supporters-shield-battle-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/sebastian-berhalter-furthers-world-cup-dream-in-supporters-shield-battle-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Sebastian Berhalter furthers World Cup dream in Supporters’ Shield battle | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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Sebastian Berhalter<\/a> might just be forcing Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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On Saturday night, the eve of his 25th birthday, the Vancouver Whitecaps<\/a> midfielder scored a skillful trivela in a 1\u20131 draw<\/a> at the\u00a0San Jose Earthquakes<\/a>, as he makes a final push for the U.S. men\u2019s national team<\/a> squad at this summer\u2019s 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

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The 76th-minute strike from close range also made sure the Whitecaps kept pace in the Supporters\u2019 Shield race, staying within three points of the league-leading Earthquakes with a game in hand.<\/p>\n

At the same time, it marked Berhalter’s 11th goal contribution (4g\/7a) of the campaign, with the goal output tying his career-high from 2025.<\/p>\n

“He has a great belief, and he’s also very optimistic in his play,” said Vancouver head coach Jesper S\u00f8rensen. “That’s why he ended up in situations where he can also be decisive, and score goals, like that run he took in for the goal was not necessarily a run you often take from a No. 6 position.<\/p>\n

“He has the self-belief… it\u2019s small things that he brought on a lot of good from last season.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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URGENCY LETS GO \ud83e\udd29 pic.twitter.com\/OEGev0JYFM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) May 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n

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World Cup dreams<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Having made a breakout as a star midfielder in Vancouver\u2019s run to the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> final and MLS Cup presented by Audi last season, Berhalter has put himself in contention for a trip to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Last season, he finished with 4g\/12a and earned plenty of trust from USMNT boss Pochettino at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since making his international debut, he has amassed 11 caps, highlighted by an impressive goal and assist in a November friendly rout of Uruguay.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Weeks remain<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

While every World Cup roster needs to be submitted by May 30, the USMNT are set to unveil their 26-man squad at an event in New York City on May 26. That gives Berhalter only three more matches to impress.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Whitecaps continue to strive for the top of the Western Conference and return to the win column after draws against San Jose and the\u00a0LA Galaxy<\/a>\u00a0to start an eight-game road swing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Points are always important, but it’s also important how we play,” added S\u00f8rensen. “We have played and approached the games as if they were home games… hopefully we can take a couple of victories before the break.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Anthony Mcnaught<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Sebastian Berhalter might just be forcing Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s hand. On Saturday night, the eve of his 25th birthday, the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder scored a skillful trivela in a 1\u20131 draw at the\u00a0San Jose Earthquakes, as he makes a final push for the U.S. men\u2019s national team squad at this summer\u2019s 2026 FIFA World Cup. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":904986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29152,43456,2005],"tags":[106054,8420],"class_list":{"0":"post-904985","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-berhalter","8":"category-sebastian","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-berhalter","11":"tag-sebastian"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/904986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}