Alexi Lalas led the former USMNT stars who tore into the national team and head coach Gregg Berhalter’s management after they salvaged a win over Jamaica at the death on Thursday night.
The USA 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 earned them the equalizer to force extra time.
The No. 13 Americans were on the verge of losing their third straight game after Greg Leigh scored 30 seconds in for the 57th-ranked Reggae Boyz.
But Burke’s own goal followed by Haji Wright’s strikes in the sixth and 19th minute of extra time salvaged a victory for the USA.
Despite the U.S. sneaking through to the Nations League final for the third straight time, Lalas blasted the national team for its performances – particularly in the first half – and appeared to question Berhalter’s position.
Former USMNT stars appeared to turn on head coach Gregg Berhlater on Thursday
The USA narrowly escaped humiliation in the Nations League semi-final against Jamaica
Alexi Lalas led criticism of the performance and questions about Berhalter’s position
‘It was a terrible half of football from the #USMNT. I wish I could go down to the locker room and rip them all a new one. #USAvJAM,’ he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, at the break.
He took direct aim at Berhalter on Friday afternoon when he insisted the coach deserved the blame for his team’s display.
“You can do whatever you want,” he wrote. “But I can say it was a terrible performance and as a coach Berhalter deserves criticism for his team’s complete lack of urgency, recklessness or energy. But he also made the necessary changes in players/tactics to find victory in a knock- out option.’
While Lalas clearly feels Berhalter deserves criticism, he doesn’t think it’s enough for US Soccer to fire him just yet.
Despite the USMNT’s recent poor performances, which have included two defeats to Trinidad and Tobago and Slovenia, Lalas remained adamant that Berhalter is not in the headlines – 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 US coach would risk being fired.
‘Firing him means Crocker admits he made a colossal mistake in his most important decision. Barring epic Copa America failures and/or undisputed upgrade 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 named Jim Curtin.
Curtin has been the head coach of MLS side Philadelphia Union since 2014, and has been named coach of the year in 2020 and 2022.
The former US defender blasted the team’s first-half performance on social media
However, Lalas believes that Berhalter is not in the hot seat yet ahead of the Copa America
However, he named his ideal candidate to replace the head coach
Taylor Twellman and Tab Ramos also talked about the state of the US national team
But Lalas wasn’t the only former American football star who seemed to turn on Berhalter after Thursday night’s lucky escape.
While former U.S. players like Taylor Twellman and Tab Ramos have previously been passive about Berhalter’s role as USMNT head coach after he was reinstated when his contract expired after the 2022 World Cup, the tide appeared to be turning.
While they didn’t directly hit Berhalter, they provided a scathing analysis of the performance with a hint that the coach is to blame.
“Unfortunately, the final product of this team continues to be so much less than the sum of its individual parts…year after year,” Ramos wrote.
Meanwhile, Twellman fired off a pair of tweets questioning Berhalter’s tactical decisions.
‘He wasn’t originally called up fwiw…’ he wrote referring to Wright after his overtime win.
Earlier on Thursday night, the Apple TV MLS commentator was apparently confused by the decision to play midfielder Weston McKennie at right back.
‘McKennie as a RB now……..’ he wrote along with shrug and raised eyebrow emojis.
‘Own goal. Assembly. #USMNT,’ he added after Burke helped pull the US level.
Former American stars, including Herculez Gomez and Eric Wynalda, also offered criticism
Retired-forwards-coach-and-commentator Eric Wynalda chimed in, writing: ‘This US team is getting harder and harder to care about. It all just feels weird’.
‘If they don’t score the own goal, where are we today? What is the conversation – is there a conversation?’ he later asked, responding to a fan who labeled Berhalter’s second tenure as ‘outdated.’
Thursday’s underwhelming performance comes just three months before the United States host the Copa America and provided a worrying glimpse 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 New Jersey – Berhalter’s home state.
