Alexi Lalas led the former USMNT stars who stormed into national team and head coach Gregg Berhalter’s charge after salvaging a win over Jamaica on Thursday night.
The US narrowly escaped humiliation at the hands of Jamaica in the Concacaf Nations League semi-final after Cory Burke’s own goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time drew them level and forced extra time.
The No. 13 Americans were on the verge of losing their third straight match after Greg Leigh scored 30 seconds in for the 57th ranked Reggae Boyz.
However, Burke’s own goal, followed by Haji Wright’s strikes in the sixth and 19th minutes of extra time, secured a victory for the US.
Despite the US advancing to the Nations League final for the third time in a row, Lalas berated the national team for its performance – especially during the first half – and appeared to question Berhalter’s position.
Former USMNT stars appeared to call on head coach Gregg Berhlater on Thursday
The US narrowly escaped humiliation in the Nations League semi-final against Jamaica
Alexi Lalas led the criticism of the performance and raised questions about Berhalter’s position
“That was a terrible half of #USMNT football. I wish I could go into the locker room and tear them all a new one. #USAvJAM,” he posted during halftime on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He took direct aim at Berhalter on Friday afternoon when he insisted the coach deserved blame for his team’s actions.
“You can do whatever you want,” he posted. ‘But I can say it was a terrible performance and as a coach Berhalter deserves criticism for his team’s complete lack of urgency, ruthlessness and energy. But he also made the necessary changes in players/tactics to achieve victory in a knockout setting.”
While Lalas clearly believes Berhalter deserves criticism, he doesn’t believe US Soccer firing him is enough.
Despite the USMNT’s recent poor performances, including two defeats against Trinidad and Tobago and Slovenia, Lalas remained confident Berhalter is not in trouble yet.
‘Meh. Matt Crocker (USSF Sporting Dir.) hired Berhalter when he had every reason not to,” he later tweeted in response to a fan who asked if the American coach was at risk of being fired.
“Firing him means Crocker admits he made a huge mistake in his most important decision. Unless the epic Copa America fails and/or an undisputed upgrade is available, Berhalter continues.’
While Lalas believes Berhalter won’t be shown the door anytime soon, it appears that if he were in Crocker’s shoes, he would and already has an ideal replacement lined up.
When asked by another social media user who he thought would be a good fit for the USMNT job, Lalas mentioned Jim Curtin.
Curtin has been the head coach of MLS side Philadelphia Union since 2014 and was named Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2022.
The former American defender announced the team’s first-half performance on social media
However, Lalas believes Berhalter is not yet in contention for the Copa America
He did mention his ideal candidate to replace the head coach
Taylor Twellman and Tab Ramos also spoke out about the state of the U.S. national team
But Lalas wasn’t the only former American football star to turn on Berhalter after Thursday night’s lucky escape.
While former US players such as Taylor Twellman and Tab Ramos were previously passive about Berhalter’s role as USMNT head coach after he was rehired when his contract expired after the 2022 World Cup, the tide appeared to be turning.
While they did not take a direct swipe at Berhalter, they provided a scathing analysis of the performance, with some suggesting the coach was at fault.
“Unfortunately, the end product of this team is still far less than the sum of its individual parts… year after year,” Ramos said.
Meanwhile, Twellman fired off a pair of tweets questioning Berhalter’s tactical decisions.
“He wasn’t called up initially…,” he wrote, referring to Wright after his winning goals in extra time.
Earlier on Thursday evening, the Apple TV MLS commentator was seemingly baffled by the decision to play midfielder Weston McKennie at right back.
“McKennie as RB now……,” he posted alongside shrugs and raised eyebrow emojis.
‘Own goal. Fitting. #USMNT,” he added after Burke helped raise the U.S. level.
Former American stars, including Herculez Gomez and Eric Wynalda, also criticized
Eric Wynalda, former forward and coach and commentator, chimed in, writing: “It’s getting harder and harder to care for this American team. It just feels weird.”
‘If they don’t score in their own goal, where are we today? What is the conversation? Is there a conversation?’ he asked later, in response to a fan who labeled Berhalter’s second term as “old.”
Thursday’s disappointing performance comes just three months before the US host the Copa America and provides a worrying insight into their chances of success.
The Copa America also serves as a warm-up for the 2026 World Cup, which the US will co-host with Canada and Mexico, with the final taking place at MetLife Stadium in Berhalter’s home state of New Jersey.
