Then, early in the second half, after Turkey took a 2-1 lead, Berhalter equalized, with a rocket from the top of the penalty area, off a rebound, that is arguably the highlight-reel goal of the World Cup for the U.S. so far.
“The ball just popped out, and I knew if I stayed calm and just made a swing motion, that I had a chance,” says Berhalter. “I practice those a lot.”
“I always say to him, he doesn’t score ugly goals,” Gregg Berhalter tells TIME in a telephone interview after the game, while heading to the airport for a flight back to Chicago, where he coaches the Fire, the city’s MLS team. “He only scores good goals.”
“He was amazing,” says Folarin Balogun, the emerging U.S. striking star who has two goals in the tournament and created an own goal in the team’s 2-0 victory over Australia on June 19. “I told him straight after the game, he had a great game. He was making decisive passes, putting in great work, and the goal as well. So I’m very, very happy for him.”