SEATTLE — The U.S. men’s soccer team entered the World Cup round of 16 looking like it had an advantage over the rest of the soccer world.
It ended Monday with another reminder that he is still playing catch-up against the world’s elite teams.
For more than 24 hours before the United States kicked off against Belgium in a sold-out Seattle stadium, other countries had decried the appearance of a off-field advantage awarded to the United States by FIFA’s independent disciplinary commissionwhen on Sunday he lifted the one-match suspension of American striker Folarin Balogun, making him eligible to play. The move plunged the team into a geopolitical storm after FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Trump acknowledged that Trump called the world football leader to find out about the red card that Balogun received on July 1 against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Yet once Monday’s game got underway, all of America’s influence waned in a 4-1 defeat. Balogun left from non-factor main character as The World Cup, galvanizing and inspiring at times, ended in a familiar place, without much contest.
“Today we were not the same team in the tournament that showed our quality,” said coach Mauricio Pochettino.
In Seattle, Belgium showed itself technically sharper from the start, its passing sharper, its defense a wall where that of the United States was constantly undermined by its own errors. Belgium made the United States look more disheveled than at any point in the tournament, with multiple errors and questionable decisions leading to the Belgian goals.
Why has the United States remained flat?
“That’s a great question,” defenseman Tyler Adams said. “I wish I had the answer now.”
The quality the United States showed in its first four matches before Monday appears to be a step forward for the U.S. men’s national team, which has never advanced past the quarterfinals in modern history. The elegant play introduced by Pochettino, his Argentine coach, led to more goals in the group stage alone than the United States had ever scored in a single World Cup, and there was growing expectation that this would be the year the American men would become a factor.
Five days earlier, a record 36 million people watched the team’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 16, capped by scenes of Pochettino smiling as he sang “Country Roads,” the team’s adopted anthem, on the field after the United States won its first knockout match at a World Cup since 2002.
On Monday, the mood had changed. After the United States scored on a stirring free kick from Malik Tillman in the 31st minute, only to concede a goal in less than a minute to fall behind 2-1, Pochettino kicked a water bottle carrier on the sidelines in frustration and hit the top of the dugout with his fist. At the final whistle, stars Christian Pulisic, who had twisted his ankle, and Balogun remained in the dugout, putting their jerseys over their mouths to regret a missed opportunity.
From Pochettino to his players, the United States has insisted that the storm surrounding them The Balogun saga – with Belgium filing a complaint that FIFA later rejected and several countries complaining about overachieving – has not affected his focus or performance. It hasn’t been a distraction for Belgium either, said striker Dodi Lukébakio.
“At the end of the day we are players, we have to respond on the pitch,” he said. “And that’s what we did today.”
Pochettino argued that the tournament marked a considerable turnaround from the previous year, when the national team was in a self-described “mess” after the Gold Cup. He added that progress is not always linear.
“I’m so proud because in one year… this team showed that we can play football, that we can play football, that we can compete,” Pochettino said, before adding, “that we have to keep improving.”
What will sting the United States is that it may never have a better opportunity to break through.
As co-hosts with Mexico and Canada, the United States benefited from a favorable draw that ensured they never had to leave the Pacific time zone for their first six matches. In Los Angeles, Seattle and the Bay Area, the team played to enthusiastic, pro-American crowds.
The players said they understood they were playing not only for short-term victories, but also to help generate long-term enthusiasm for soccer in a country that has not always welcomed the sport warmly. Last week, American player Gio Reyna admitted that “World Cups only happen every four years, especially at home; this opportunity will really never come again.”
“I think that was the goal, obviously to inspire people that the sport was growing in the United States, which I think we saw,” Adams said. “The support was incredible. I think our first reaction as a team was to let them down at that point. But I think overall people gravitated toward the team because we were close, we represented exactly what the United States was today.”
Defender Tim Ream said he wasn’t in the mood to analyze the game’s tactics on Monday, but overall he said it was important to ask “how can we continue to inspire (young players) now that the tournament is over?”
That’s not the only question the United States faces now that its tournament is over.
In recent years, US Soccer has attracted more financial support, leading to larger budgets and resources capable of attracting a top coach like Pochettino. Billionaire Ken Griffin contributed a “significant portion” to financing Pochettino’s deal, the federation previously said. This spring, US Soccer opened its first dedicated training center outside of Atlanta. And in June, the training center was the site of a summit of youth and national soccer officials from across the country, as they sought to determine how to fix kinks and problems. a fragmented talent development pipeline in this country.
How the United States spends the next four years before the next World Cup, building on this momentum, could decide its fate in 2030. Of the 26 players on the roster, 17 play for teams based in Europe, as the United States increases its representation in many leagues considered the best in the world. The average age of Monday’s lineup was over 27 years old. Whether the federation brings in younger blood, while retaining veteran leadership, will be something Pochettino, or another coach, will have to balance.
US Soccer has reportedly offered its manager a contract extension, but Pochettino has just coached some of the biggest clubs in the world, and others may be courting him now. He wouldn’t commit Monday to his future, but said he and the U.S. Soccer Federation have “built a really good relationship.”
“It’s the time to see, to evaluate the tournament and of course, in the coming weeks we can start talking if the federation wants to talk,” Pochettino said.
Throughout the tournament, players described the vast difference in atmosphere compared to four years earlier, when the World Cup was played in Qatar, as far away from American support as possible. But the feeling after another round of 16 loss was no different, Adams said.
“It was time to have the opportunity to move forward and really try to do something special,” he said. “We didn’t succeed.”