U.S. World Cup run ends in familiar fashion with 4-1 loss to Belgium
For the fourth time in the past five World Cups, the United States men’s national team has packed its bags after the Round of 16. The only break in that pattern came in 2018, when the U.S. didn’t qualify at all.
History repeated itself in Seattle on Monday, as Belgium ended the American campaign with a comprehensive 4-1 victory to book a quarterfinal date with Spain on Friday.
It wasn’t supposed to feel like this. Belgium also knocked the U.S. out in 2014, but that game in Salvador went to extra time and was decided by inches. This one never felt that close.
From the opening whistle, the Americans looked a step slow and a touch off. Belgium scored inside the first 10 minutes and kept pressing goalkeeper Matt Freese, eventually finding three more. By the final whistle, the scoreline reflected the gap on the night.
“We were not the same team that during the tournament showed the quality,” said U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino. “Very bad day. Wasn’t our day in a collective and individual way? And we need to accept that sometimes this type of thing happens. But in a tournament like the World Cup, when that happens, you don’t have another chance.”
That’s what made it sting. This U.S. team had given fans reason to believe. The group stage was dazzling at times. Then came the Round of 32 against Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the U.S. played more than 30 minutes down a man after top scorer Folarin Balogun was sent off, and still found a way to grind out a win. With that resilience, talk of reaching just the second quarterfinal in program history started to feel real.
Instead, the team unraveled. Christian Pulisic, usually the creative hub, was off all night. He turned the ball over 11 times in the first half alone — more than any player on the field. Sergiño Dest had no answers defensively on the right and was withdrawn at halftime. Balogun, who scored three goals and forced an own goal in the first four games, struggled to get involved and never threatened.
The pregame debate about FIFA clearing Balogun to play after his red card ultimately didn’t matter. No one could lift the U.S. on the night.
The one bright spot came midway through the first half with the U.S. already trailing 1-0. Balogun drew a foul just outside the box. Malik Tillman stepped up and delivered — again. His free kick deflected off a jumping Belgian in the wall and in. Tillman also scored from a set piece against Bosnia.
But the moment didn’t spark a comeback.
“From the beginning, we didn’t connect with the game,” Pochettino said on the Fox broadcast.
And so the wait continues. The U.S. hasn’t reached a World Cup quarterfinal since 2002. On a night when everything went wrong, Belgium made sure there would be no second chance.
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