Gregg Berhalter 'is NOT the coach to lead USMNT to 2026 World Cup,' slams Herculez Gomez after lucky Nations League escape against Jamaica

Former USMNT forward Herculez Gomez has insisted Gregg Berhalter is not the right man to lead the Stars and Stripes to the 2026 World Cup. 

The USA had its blushes spared when Cory Burke's own goal in the sixth minute of injury time drew them level to force extra time in the Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Jamaica. 

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 but Burke's own goal followed by Haji Wright's strikes in the sixth and 19th minutes of extra time salvaged a 3-1 win for the USA. 

The victory saw the Americans sneak through to the Nations League final against Mexico with the chance to win a third straight title this weekend.

But even that can't save Berhalter, Gomez believes, as the analyst insisted the head coach was on the brink of being fired. 

Herculez Gomez has insisted Gregg Berhalter is not the right man to lead the USMNT 

The USA narrowly escaped humiliation in the Nations League semifinal against Jamaica

'Gregg Berhalter was two seconds away from everybody calling for his head,' Gomez said on ESPN. 'From everybody saying this isn't the man to lead this team. 

'I don't think I feel too differently today after this game than how I did before it. Gregg Berhalter may be a good coach a certain level. He's not the coach for the USMNT at this level. Not the coach to lead the USMNT to a World Cup in 2026.'

The 41-year-old shared the clip to X, formerly known as Twitter, doubling down on his claims in the caption. 

'The #USMNT may beat Mexico (or not) this weekend for its 3rd CNL title,' he wrote alongside the snippet of the Futbol Americas show on Friday. 

'But it won’t change what I’ve seen and how I feel about Gregg Berhalter being the USMNT coach.'

Gomez isn't the only former USMNT star to come out swinging at Berhalter this week. 

Alexi Lalas led a number of former American soccer players questioning Berhalter's position with the Copa America just three months away. 

The former defender blasted the national team for its performance - particularly during the first half - and appeared to question Berhalter's position. 

Alexi Lalas led the criticism of the performance and questions over Berhalter's position 

The former US defender blasted the team's first half performance on social media 

'That was a horrible half of soccer from #USMNT. I wish I could go down to the locker room and tear ‘em all a new one. #USAvJAM,' he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, at halftime. 

 He directly targeted Berhalter Friday afternoon when he insisted the coach merited blame for his team's display. 

'You can do whatever you want,' he posted. 'But I can say it was a horrible performance and, as coach, Berhalter deserves criticism for his team’s utter lack of urgency, ruthlessness, or energy. But he also made the necessary changes in players/tactics to find the win in a knock-out setting.' 

While former USA players such as Taylor Twellman, Eric Wynalda and Tab Ramos previously have been passive about Berhalter's role as USMNT head coach after he was rehired, the tide appeared to be changing. 

The trio also joined in as, although they didn't directly hit out at Berhalter, they delivered scathing analysis of the performance with some hinting the coach is at fault. 

'Unfortunately, the final product of this team continues to be so much less than the sum of its individual parts….. year after year,' Ramos posted. 

Taylor Twellman and Tab Ramos also spoke out about the state of the US national team 

Meanwhile, Twellman fired off a couple of tweets questioning Berhalter's tactical decisions. 

'He wasn’t initially called in fwiw…..,' he wrote, referring to Wright after his winning extra-time goals. 

Earlier on Thursday night, the Apple TV MLS commentator was seemingly left baffled by the decision to play midfielder Weston McKennie as a right back. 

'McKennie as a RB now……..,' he posted alongside shoulder-shrug and raised-eyebrow emojis. 

'Own goal. Fitting. #USMNT,' he added after Burke helped pull the US level. 

Former US stars, including Twellman and Eric Wynalda, also chimed in with criticism 

Retired-forward-turned-coach-and-commentator Wynalda chimed in, writing: 'This US team is getting harder and harder to care about. The whole thing just feels weird.'

'If they don’t score the own goal where are we today? What’s the conversation - is there a conversation?' he later asked, replying to a fan who branded Berhalter's second tenure as 'stale'.

Thursday's underwhelming performance comes just three months before the USA hosts the Copa America and offered a worrying insight into their chances of success.

The Copa America also serves as a warmup 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.