After the USMNT got stunningly bounced from Copa America following losses to lower-ranked Uruguay and Panama, soccer fans around the country are calling for the head of the team’s manager. And one of the people leading the charge to fire Gregg Berhalter is USMNT legend and FOX Soccer pundit Alexi Lalas.
Lalas spoke about the disappointing results for the USMNT and the fate of Berhalter following the loss to Uruguay on Monday night.
“When it comes to Gregg Berhalter … I know there’s a sport in firing coaches in all professional sports, and I know the knives are out. And they should be. This is not good enough from Gregg Berhalter,” Lalas said. “We can't afford to be embarrassed, and we can't afford to arrive in the summer of 2026 with a team that has not progressed, that has not evolved, and has not improved.”
“I’m sure if Gregg Berhalter was here he’d say, ‘Oh, but you don’t see what’s happening inside,’” Lalas continued. “I don’t give a crap what is happening inside. I don’t care about the dynamic. I don’t care how much your players love you. I don’t care how kumbaya it is. All I care about is [seeing] a U.S. Men’s National Team that is better than before.”
Alexi Lalas certainly wasn’t the only one calling for Berhalter’s head after the Copa America exit. “Fire Gregg Berhalter” and other variations of that theme were trending on social media throughout Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Several former USMNT players joined Lalas in calling for Berhalter to go.
“If this was nation a serious footballing nation, a serious federation, this question [of should Berhalter be fired] wouldn’t be a question, there would be immediate action,” former U.S. forward Herculez Gomez said on ESPN.
And nobody seemed to want Berhalter out more than the fans who watched the debacle against Uruguay at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. As the U.S. supporters filtered out of the building, you could hear chants of “Fire Gregg!” echo through the halls.
Will the U.S. Soccer Federation fire Gregg Berhalter?
The 2026 World Cup is coming to the United States in less than two years, which means if the team is going to move on and fire Gregg Berhalter, they will need to do it sooner rather than later.
In international soccer time, two years is a very small window, and since the USMNT is already qualified for 2026 as a host nation, they won’t have an arduous World Cup qualifying process to get them ready for the tournament.
If the U.S. Soccer Federation does fire Berhalter, as they should, the next question becomes, who should be the next coach of the USMNT?
A quick scroll through social media will show you that more than a few fans would love to have the recently unemployed Jurgen Klopp as the manager after he stepped down following a successful run at Liverpool.
There are also several MLS coaches who may be a fit for the job, lead among them is LAFC’s Steve Cherundolo. The 45-year-old has 87 caps as a fullback for the USMNT and a 63-21-30 record as coach of the Los Angeles-based team.
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