USMNT approached by ex-Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez after Jurgen Klopp rejected role

After Jurgen Klopp reportedly told U.S. Soccer leaders that he wasn't interested in the United States men's national team head coaching position, another former Liverpool boss has entered the equation .

According to CBS , Rafa Benitez, a Champions League winner at Anfield, is taking the initiative in contacting U.S. Soccer officials about his desire to fill the role. Benitez has reportedly used a former club player, USMNT midfielder Luca De La Torre, as a connective tissue between himself and the federation.

The USMNT is officially in the hunt for a new head coach after firing Gregg Berhalter last week in the wake of a dismal Copa America effort on home soil. Reports indicated that Klopp represented the first choice for the position, but after he rejected an approach, U.S. Soccer must pivot to a broader pool of candidates.

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While Benitez is currently without a managerial job and hasn't replicated the heights he reached in the 2000s, he is also a recognizable and respected name from a global perspective. He's coached in La Liga, the Premier League and Serie A - divisions far more prestigious than anywhere Berhalter worked.

Additionally, he has done some of his best work in tournament formats, winning the UEFA Cup, FA Cup, FA Community Shield, Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and Coppa Italia.

In 2026, the United States will co-host the World Cup in what's considered one of the most pivotal moments in USMNT history. After botching the coaching situation at the Copa America, where the Stars and Stripes crashed out in the group stage, pressure is high to get this hiring search right.

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“Our immediate focus is on finding a coach who can maximize our potential as we continue to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, and we have already begun our search process,” said U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker, the man who re-appointed Berhalter last year.

Benitez last worked at Celta Vigo in La Liga. The Spanish club dismissed him amid a relegation battle, though he did lead the team to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals in another signal of his tournament format abilities.

His reported interest in the USMNT comes despite warnings from another former Premier League manager, Jesse Marsch, about the state of U.S. Soccer. Marsch led Canada to the Copa America third-place match after failing to land the USMNT job in 2023.

"I would love to say I'm just focused on what we're doing here in Canada, but obviously, I'm paying attention, as always, to the U.S. men's national team and like you, I'm sad," Marsch told FOX Sports . "I'm disappointed by the performances, by the lack of discipline. There's a lot of things that I think we've tried to be about, about the game in the U.S., and we've always believed in this group of players."