They had a mostly "golden generation" of players in their peaks, like Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Malik Tillman, and Sergino Dest.Folarin Balogun, arguably the best striker the US has had in recent memory, was also available for the must-win match after FIFA controversially postponed his red card suspension with some involvement from President Donald Trump.Belgium was widely viewed as a "beatable" opponent.
They'd trailed Senegal 2-0 in the 86th minute in the round of 32, before a ferocious, fortunate comeback led to a 3-2 victory deep in extra time after a questionable penalty allowed Youri Tielemans to slot home the winner.Their defense was seen as questionable, at best, and their "golden generation" had aged past their primes.
Star forward Jeremy Doku was also out of the starting 11, seemingly giving the US back line an advantage.Belgium's Romelu Lukaku (9) kicks the ball past the United States' Chris Richards (3) to score his team's fourth goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, Washington.Monday, July 6, 2026.
(Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo)BELGIUM EMBARRASSES TEAM USA BEFORE BREAKING OUT TRUMP'S SIGNATURE DANCE CELEBRATION AFTER FOURTH GOALAs it turns out, not only did the USMNT not have an advantage, they were hopelessly outplayed and outclassed by an organized, composed, aggressive Belgian attack.They created few good chances, facing a much better defensive structure without Kevin De Bruyne on the pitch.
After tying the match on another fantastic free kick from Tillman, they conceded again in less than 70 seconds.There was a humiliating goalkeeper error when Matt Freese kicked the ground instead of the ball, leading to the third goal that effectively put the match away.
4-1 defeat, and little to show for it.All that might be more forgivable, after all, Belgium is still a very good international team, if the USMNT had a clean match and were simply beaten by a better team.But they didn't just...