'Pure domination' - Bob Bradley hails USMNT, reflects on Salah bond

Bob Bradley GFX

Former USMNT boss Bob Bradley speaks to GOAL about the Americans’ World Cup-opening win, his bond with Mo Salah, 2010 memories and his desire to coach again.

As Bob Bradley reflects on his coaching journey, he is compelled to share one story.

His career has taken him from New Jersey to the U.S. Men's National Team, from Egypt to the Premier League, where he became the first American to manage in England's top flight, and from LAFC's launch to stops across the global game. But the story that comes to mind is not about a job, a result or a piece of history. It is about a recent interaction with a former player, one he coached near the start of his career and then watched rise to the very highest levels of the sport.

"Today is Mo Salah's birthday," Bradley tells GOAL Monday. "And they're [Egypt] are about to play Belgium in Seattle. I sent Mo a little message this morning, not expecting anything back. And immediately, I got a message back."

Bradley and Salah worked together during the American's two-year run with Egypt, with the latter then an unknown winger for Al-Mokawloon. It was Bradley who gave Salah his first cap for the national team, and Bradley's early guidance helped kick-start a career that saw Salah eventually become a global icon with Liverpool.

"[To reflect on] the work with him, and to see what he's been able to do, and to know that at some level we still share an understanding of everything that got put into it," Bradley explains. "Look, I stepped aside very early in his career and saw him move along, and then finally get to Liverpool and just explode.

"I'm excited always that players that I've worked with, at some level, there's a connection, and they appreciate the work we did together, and I'm always excited when I see them do well."

It is those connections that still drive Bradley in his desire to continue coaching. He also points to the relationship he continues to have with members of the 2010 USMNT World Cup team as another example. The opportunity to help guide players and build on their skill sets is something that the 68-year-old remains very passionate about.

The former head coach, who last coached Norwegian club Stabæk Fotball in 2024, is making no secret of his desire to coach again.

"I'm excited and motivated to find the right next challenge," he says. "Over the years, the ability to engage people around me, to challenge people, to lead discussions, to build a team, to help develop really good players, to have teams that are exciting and fun and compete. I've done that for a long time, and I still believe I'm really good at that, and I'm excited to find the right next project."

Bradley spoke with GOAL for a Q&A as part of Coaches Corner, a World Cup series that brings together former USMNT head coaches Gregg Berhalter, Bruce Arena and Bradley for tactical analysis, insider perspective and candid conversations throughout the tournament. The series is available to stream on FanDuel's YouTube channel.

Beyond his own future, Bradley discussed what he liked from the USMNT's 4-1 win last Friday, where they can still improve, and what it could be like to match up tactically against his son, New York Red Bulls first-year head coach Michael Bradley, in the latest GOAL Convo.

NOTE: Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

USA v Paraguay: Group D - FIFA World Cup 2026

ON THE USMNT'S WIN OVER PARAGUAY

GOAL: As a former national team head coach, what did you think of the USMNT's performance against Paraguay?

BRADLEY: I was at the game, and simply put, it was the perfect way to start a World Cup. From the beginning, Christian [Pulisic's] dribbling, Weston [McKennie's] mobility, as we started to get going, [Malik] Tillman finding really good spots, everything headed in a direction toward [Folarin] Balogun. The coordination, timing and speed of movement. It was just a really, really good first half.

I've said a few times now that if a team has a plan to press and the first time somebody steps up, our player can just go right by them, and it happens again and again and again. Then there's no more press. Paraguay couldn't get close to us, and they backed off. We found ways to create big spaces, and the first half was just fantastic in every way. It was pure domination.

GOAL: When you look at that match, how much of that dominance was down to it being the U.S.'s first home World Cup game in decades and the adrenaline that comes with that versus tactics or just certain aspects of the game?

BRADLEY: The crowd sure helps, but obviously [Mauricio] Pochettino had everybody in the right place. When a game starts like that, you absolutely say that the XI that he picked made sense. Let's take the midfield for a second. I like the roles. I think that McKennie is best when he's a little bit higher, when he can be part of the press, when he has opportunities to run.

And there were huge spaces in the channels. Paraguay's center backs stood so close to each other with a balloon between them, and the distances between the center backs and the outside backs were enormous. They just couldn't deal with the fact that, in the coordinated way that we would move, they weren't sure.

Paraguay's center backs didn't want to release, midfielders weren't sure whether they should run through, and in all those ways we just pushed them in at a speed. Physically, we're a really strong team, and if you look at the group of players we have on the field athletically, with speed and power, we've got a really good group.

USA v Paraguay: Group D - FIFA World Cup 2026

ON BALOGUN'S IMPRESSIVE WORLD CUP DEBUT

GOAL: Some folks are saying Balogun's showing was the best by a U.S. striker in a single World Cup game. Do you agree with that?

BRADLEY: There's so much talk right now about the best compared to other years, and I've just stayed away from all that. I judge what I see, and when he came into this World Cup, I really felt that he would make a big statement, that he was in excellent form. He's a real goal scorer, and he started the World Cup showing all of that.

In addition to his ability in the box and his finishing, he has also been a very important part of the counterpressing, and when you look at the way we were able to play, we created numbers inside. So when we play outside and the ball gets played back inside, when we play diagonally and have numbers in the middle, we have an opportunity for combination play, third-man runs and little windows to slip passes, and it also means that when you lose the ball, everybody's in a really good position to go after it again in the counterpress. Balogun, again, was an important part of that.

USA v Paraguay: Group D - FIFA World Cup 2026

ON WHERE THE USMNT CAN IMPROVE

GOAL: It is typical for coaches, even in the best of wins, to find areas for growth. Where do you see this team needing to focus ahead of Australia?

BRADLEY: I got asked [this] a bunch of times after the Senegal and Germany [friendlies], and [there are] absolutely concerns in the back. [There are times] when the back four at times weren't connected very well, the understanding in different situations of "Should I be [marking a] man or am I ready to pick somebody else up?"

Teams would run players through from the second line, and sometimes we weren't in good positions to deal with that because we were locked into other things. At times, in the back, guys were tuning out and ball watching, and so, to be clear, Paraguay didn't test this in any of those ways.

As great a game as the other night was, even the goal against [the USMNT] is a little bit of a blip. It comes off a long free kick from the keeper, and I think Chris Richards gambled a little bit and got caught on the wrong side. Then, when it was Tim [Weah's] turn to try to cover for him, [I] didn't like the way he reached across with his left foot, and it put Freeman in a difficult position. The way it was at that point, he wasn't quick enough to be able to help.

So coaches can find all these things. When you win a big game, you don't want to ruin the energy that night, but when you have a chance the next day, you're looking at these details. You're starting to help everybody understand what the next game is going to be like, and when Australia defensively has an amazing performance and wins 2-0, as a coach, you have the message to your team that Australia is going to be a hard team to play against. It's a little easier to get that message across when they've come off a very important 2-0 win against Turkey.

GOAL: It's still early, but after watching Friday's performance, what's your expectation from this group through the tournament?

BRADLEY: Continue with the momentum, get out of the group, win the group, set up a good match in the Round of 32 and take this thing as far as you can.

GOAL: Like the safe answer there, coach [laughs].

BRADLEY: Go back one second to 2010, [when I coached the team]. We felt that there was an opportunity to do something special, and when we came out of the group, we were all focused in the right way. There was a real commitment to what we were all about as a team. We had proven that, and then you get into a game where, when it goes into extra time, it gets away from you, and we always look back on that World Cup like there was a lot more there for us.

Did we set a specific goal ahead of time? The goal was to be a very good team, compete at the highest level and go as far as we could, and when we lost in the Round of 16, for all of us, it was disappointing. But we also were proud of what we were all about, and so again, the game keeps you honest.

People on the outside want all of the [bold predictions], "We need to get to the semifinals, we need to get to the finals." Coaches all do it differently. I don't know behind the scenes how Mauricio has handled it, but in order to accomplish any goals, it's all about a group coming together in the right way, everybody believing and feeling good about what's going on. When different people get opportunities, they're ready to step up, and I'm hoping that we can see all of those things and go as far as possible.

FBL-WC2010-MATCH50-USA-GHA

REFLECTING ON WHAT 2010 MEANT

GOAL: You brought up 2010. What do you think is your legacy from that tournament? It's decades ago now. What did it all mean in the bigger picture?

BRADLEY: Yeah, I never use the word legacy. It's not in my [vocabulary]. What I feel is this: I had the opportunity to be the national team coach, and when you get that chance, you think about all the people along the way and everyone in the country who has given to the game and what they're all about. Then you get the baton. You carry it for as long and in as strong a way as you can, and when the time comes, whether you like it or not, you give it to the next guy.

When all of us look back on our team, I think the feeling [is] that everybody really enjoyed the group that we had. The way the team came together and the shared experience of a team that had a real identity. [We were] a team that wasn't afraid of playing against big teams and going after games and understanding on the field how to help each other and work for each other.

I don't feel any need to try to convince anybody. If we were good, everybody can judge it whatever way they want, but from the inside, the feeling of what we were all about and the memories of that group, I'm always very proud of when I hear any of these guys talk because I think they all felt like they were part of something special.

Los Angeles FC v Seattle Sounders

ON BRADLEY'S FUTURE AND COACHING

GOAL: So what have you been up to since you last left coaching, and is there a desire to get back into it at all?

BRADLEY: Over the years, the ability to engage people around me, to challenge people, to lead discussions, to build a team, to help develop really good players and to have teams that are exciting, fun and competitive. I've done that for a long time, and I still believe I'm really good at that, and I'm excited to find the right next project. I've gotten into all different kinds of situations and found really good ways to create a culture that everybody feels is special, and I'm going to find the right opportunity and do it again.

GOAL: Have you had conversations with teams about roles?

BRADLEY: I've had some, and you never know what people are looking for. In certain cases, when the time comes, you have a football discussion, and in that call, you challenge people on their football ideas.

[Do they] understand what it takes to create the culture that I just described? Understand what it means when it's your turn to lead, how you stand in front of a group, how you talk and whether you come across in a real way. And when things are going a little tough, do you know how to make sure that everybody still is on board?

I've done all those things. I've done them in all sorts of places, with players from different backgrounds. If you look at the list of players that I've worked with, I would never say that any success they have is due to me. But I'm pretty proud when I see guys that I worked with move on and have really good careers.

GOAL: One final one from me. LeBron James once said the biggest honor of his life would be to either play with his son or play against him in the NBA. With your son Michael now coaching the Red Bulls, how would it feel to potentially coach against him one day?

BRADLEY: I coached against him as a player. I've obviously had him on teams I've coached. He always loved playing, and as he wanted to take his career as far and as long as he could, I'm proud that I was part of that.

Then he had this idea, it was probably always there, that he wanted to coach. So when he finished in Toronto, a couple of days later, he joined me in Norway. That meant that every day for a year I was the first one in, and he was pretty close, No. 2.

I'm really happy that I was able, not only at the very beginning, to get him going in the game and help create [the foundation he has]. He was around a lot of really good people and around the game from a young age. Then, in the next phase, as he transitioned into coaching, those experiences were pretty special, and I love watching his team.