IRVINE, Calif. — Sebastian Berhalter has been on site for the past two World Cups.

“Four years ago I was in the stands waiting for my pops to come up,” he said Tuesday, “and now they’re waiting for me.”

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In 2022, Berhalter was a spectator in Qatar, in the crowd with his mother and siblings cheering on the U.S. and supporting his father, Gregg, the head coach.

At the time, Sebastian was a 21-year-old midfielder finding his place in Major League Soccer. He had yet to have enjoyed a breakthrough moment as a pro and hadn’t been invited to any youth national team camps.

The thought of being anywhere other than the stands for a World Cup — or even a U.S. friendly, for that matter — was a distant thought.

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Fast forward to Friday at SoFi Stadium. It’s halftime of the 4-1 U.S. romp over Paraguay. Christian Pulisic had been brilliant during a picture-perfect first half, but because a kick to the left calf aggravated an ailment suffered a few days earlier, coach Mauricio Pochettino turned to Berhalter to help see out the Group D opener.

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“Just proud, and going up to see my family [afterward], and then seeing how happy they were for me … it’s pretty special,” he said. “To have that moment with them was amazing.”

From World Cup spectator to USMNT sub

Since the last World Cup, Berhalter has established himself as one of MLS’ top midfielders for a Vancouver Whitecaps side that advanced to the final last year and leads the Western Conference at the summer break.

His father is in his second season guiding the Chicago Fire, which is third in the Eastern Conference and on pace for a second playoff berth after the organization missed out seven straight years.

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But while Gregg has forged a long coaching history, Sebastian has busted through as a player in rapid fashion.

“He sees where he wants to go, what his ambitions are, and how he wants to improve,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “He was obviously more of a fan at the last World Cup, and it’s amazing to see his rise over the past few years. What he set out to do and achieve, he’s been able to do that, but that’s through his discipline. When you see how he shows up every single day for training, it’s no surprise.”

Since debuting with the national team last summer, Berhalter was invited to almost every camp leading to the World Cup and, through a fabulous start to the MLS campaign, all but secured his place on the U.S. roster last month.

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Pochettino’s group chat video to his 26 selections brought a rush of emotions.

“My mom started crying right away, and my sister started crying, and then I started crying,” Berhalter said. “I was just telling them I love them and thank you so much for all the sacrifices over the years, especially my mom. I was just crying for probably 45 seconds and then I was like, ‘All right, I’ve got to go because I train in like 20 minutes’” with the Whitecaps.

‘Sometimes people need to call you crazy’

Berhalter now finds himself in the same inner circle as players he admired.

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He called Adams “my role model my whole life.”

Midfielder Weston McKennie was “one of my role models, my idols growing up,” he said. “To see what he’s doing with Juventus is inspiring, especially someone in MLS, to know guys can do it over there.”

Though the three are close in age, Berhalter was never on the same fast track as Adams and McKennie, who, as teenagers, debuted with the U.S. and signed with clubs in Germany.

Once the awestruck phase faded, Berhalter became one of the gang. He has brought levels of ambition and intensity to central midfield, not to mention the technical ability to drop a set piece onto a teammate’s head or foot in dangerous spots.

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It’s been a long road.

“Sometimes people need to call you crazy,” he said. “That’s been my whole life. I was 16 years old, I’m going pro [with the Columbus Crew], I’m probably 5-10, 110 pounds, and everyone else was already a lot bigger than me. People kind of laughed at me.”

Living with the Berhalter name

Berhalter’s journey began in London, his birthplace while his father was a Crystal Palace defender. In 2006, when Gregg was on the World Cup squad, five-year-old Sebastian was part of the crowd in Germany.

He remembers “running around the hotel and collecting the Panini stickers. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I could feel the magnitude and understood how important it was to my family and everyone there.”

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His father’s influence played out stateside, too. With Gregg coaching Columbus, Sebastian excelled in the youth academy. Though his father moved on to the national team, Sebastian couldn’t escape people grumbling about favoritism.

“I know if I got a call from my dad [to play for a team he was coaching], I would have had to earn it double as any other player,” he said. “Whatever anyone wanted to say, it didn’t matter to me, because I know the type of person he is, and he would never just call me in just to call me in. That’s something that I had to earn.”

Aside from showing the ability to play on the international level, Sebastian went through mental preparations of breaking into the national team.

In Qatar, “literally every game, I’m just envisioning being in those games and being the biggest fan in the stands, cheering for the team, and feeling so nervous for every game,” he said. “Just seeing what it takes at that level and telling myself after we got eliminated that in four years’ time, I want to be there and this is what I’m going to work towards the next four years.”

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Berhalter’s breakthrough came early last year in leading the Whitecaps to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final in the spring, followed by stellar play in MLS. Berhalter called him up for the CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer. After that, his MLS form held up as he finished with four goals and 12 assists in the regular season and an MLS Best XI honor.

Sebastian Berhalter, Gio Reyna move past family drama

His return to the national team in November reunited him with midfielder Gio Reyna, a boyhood friend whose rift with Sebastian’s father at the 2022 World Cup spilled into the public following the tournament and involved Reyna’s parents. The families had been close for decades, but the escalating conflict became deeply personal.

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Sebastian and Gio have shown no signs of the family drama affecting their U.S. camaraderie. (Had it, Pochettino, who placed high importance on creating a family atmosphere within the team, wouldn’t have selected both of them.)

Asked about the potentially awkward dynamic, Berhalter has spoken highly of Reyna’s professionalism and skill set. They might not be best friends, but they seem to be good teammates.

“It’s not a story between me and him,” Berhalter said. “We’re on the same team, and, for us, it’s just about winning games.”

Reflecting on the 2022 turmoil, Reyna said, “It’s a little bit tiring [being asked about it]. Everyone is so far removed from that.”

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Commenting on Sebastian, Reyna said, “It’s great to see his progression. He had some difficult moments in his earlier MLS career, but the way he’s really developed over the last two years has been great to see. … He demands a lot out of everybody and he’s a good part of the group.”

Both were on the field down the stretch against Paraguay, when Reyna scored the final goal. Berhalter was the second teammate to hug him.

“An incredible goal,” Berhalter said.

And for Berhalter, a World Cup debut that, a few years ago, simply wasn’t fathomable.