Ex-USA stars call for coaching change after loss: 'Gregg Berhalter hasn't been good enough'

Should Gregg Berhalter be fired?

That was the most pressing issue surrounding the embattled United States men's national team and its manager the moment the final whistle sounded on their 1-0 loss to Uruguay on Monday, completing a stunning group stage elimination from the 2024 Copa América tournament on its home soil.

While FOX Sports lead soccer analyst Alexi Lalas thinks there is plenty of blame to go around among the current team, he still believes Berhalter has ultimately failed in his second go-around as the team's coach, and the current USMNT is not prepared to take advantage of the immense opportunity it has when the U.S. co-hosts the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup in two years.

"I know there's sport in firing coaches in all professional sports, and I know the knives are out — and they should be, because this is not good enough for Gregg Berhalter," Lalas said on "Copa América Tonight" after Thursday's match. "With 2026 barreling down the pike … we can't afford to waste it. We can't afford to be embarrassed, and we can't afford to arrive in the summer of '26 with a team that has not progressed, that has not evolved, that has not improved.

"I'm sure if Gregg Berhalter was here, he would say, 'Oh, but you don't see what's happening inside.' 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 if I see a U.S. men's national team that is better than before. We haven't seen that, and that's a problem going forward."

Lalas reiterated that he is of the mind that national teams should change coaches every four-year World Cup cycle, and since Berhalter led the team through the previous cycle and at the