Christian Pulisic broke down in tears on the bench after an injury forced him out of the game in the 59th minute, leaving him unable to help the U.S. men’s national team’s comeback efforts against Belgium in the round of 16 in Seattle on Monday night.
Without their star winger, the Stars and Stripes fell 4–1 and crashed out of the World Cup at the same stage as fellow co-hosts Canada and Mexico, unable to fight back from a disastrous start and a mistake from goalkeeper Matt Freese.
While the pressure of a round of 16 match was immense, the primary headlines surrounding the USMNT in the 24 hours before kickoff were dominated by Folarin Balogun’s eligibility to play.
After he picked up a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the White House and President Donald Trump became involved in an untraditional appeal, resulting in the striker remaining in the starting lineup and serving his red-card suspension at a later date, while also paying a $40,000 fine. By the time the USMNT players got on the pitch, they looked unprepared and distracted.
WIN FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™ FINAL TICKETS & OTHER PRIZES
Belgium started the scoring early with an energetic effort from kickoff, as Charles De Ketelaere scored a tap-in at the back post after Leandro Trossard sliced a cross across the penalty area, eluding Freese’s reach in the ninth minute.
Just after the half-hour mark, and after a less than ideal start, the USMNT got on the board with Malik Tillman’s free-kick effort, which ricocheted off the head of Hans Vanaken and beyond Thibaut Courtois.
Unfortunately for the USMNT, the lead wouldn’t hold long, as De Ketelaere won a physical battle with center back Tim Ream and headed home to make it 2–1 less than two minutes later.
Halftime brought no reprieve for the USMNT’s level, and things got worse in the 57th minute, when Freese misjudged a ball over the top, kicked the ball into the ground on an attempted clearance and allowed Vanaken to calmly slot it into the open goal. Romelu Lukaku netted another insurance goal in stoppage time, extending the final score to an embarassing 4–1.
Without Pulisic in the late stages and with an underwhelming performance from the entire team, the USMNT was unable to find its way to any positivity and crashed out of the World Cup at the same stage as it did in 2010, 2014 and 2022. The 2002 tournament remains the last time the USMNT advanced to the quarterfinals.
Sports Illustrated takes a look at every player who saw the pitch on Monday in Seattle.
The One Thing We Can’t Ignore—A Disaster of Massive Implications
For all the hope, for all the dreams and for all the hype that the USMNT had built in the last month and in the years leading up to the World Cup, it all feels like it was for naught. When the team finally came up against a top-10-ranked side, it floundered, and unlike their fellow co-hosts, it didn’t look like it belonged from the start.
Pochettino made aggressive changes, rolled with his best lineup and had the USMNT confidence at a point that seemed perfect. Yet, the parting message of this World Cup for the USMNT, instead of a glorious rendition of “Country Roads” with the Seattle faithful, is the controversy surrounding Balogun and an underwhelming performance against what many thought was a beatable Belgian team.
If this were an overseas World Cup, making the round of 16 may have been an okay goal—it’s the standard the USMNT has set for itself since a run to the quarterfinals 24 years ago, but on home soil, with the most talented group in U.S Soccer’s history, it is simply unacceptable. After all, this was a team that suggested “why not us” when it came to winning the entire thing and, for parts of the summer, looked like they might just do it.
There will be heartbreak now, and that’s fine. But there will be plenty of questions about the entire program, and with Pochettino not signed to an extension and with this result in mind, the future could be cloudy.
USMNT Player Ratings vs. Belgium (4-1-2-3)
GK: Matt Freese—4.5: It was a performance that wil haunt Matt Freese for years. His mistake in the 57th minute all but ended the slight hopes the USMNT had.
RB: Alex Freeman—6.6: Poor defending on the opening goal when matched with Trossard. He struggled throughout the night.
CB: Chris Richards—4.8: The most important piece of the USMNT backline, Richards struggled to contain De Ketelaere and failed to pick up unmarked options left by Tim Ream. He struggled late too, when Lukaku stormed through.
CB: Tim Ream—4.4: In his final World Cup game, the captain failed to win many challenges, made mistakes on every goal and was dribbled past throughout the evening.
LB: Antonee Robinson—6.3: One of the few bright spots on the backline, Robinson showed some life coming down the left wing but had too much on his plate once Pulisic came off.
CDM: Tyler Adams—6.2: Taken off in the 72nd minute, Adams had five defensive contributions but failed to make any impact in transition.
CM: Weston McKennie—5.8: The Juventus man and usual midfield lynchpin looked invisible and struggled to connect with players around him.
CM: Malik Tillman—7.6: The best USMNT player by far, Tillman showed his prowess with another threatening set-piece and showcased energy throughout the 90 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to lead his team. Luckily, he’s only 24 years old and will be a big part of the 2030 team.
RM: Sergiño Dest—6.3: Dest struggled to find any moments down the wing and forced Pochettino into a halftime sub.
ST: Folarin Balogun—6.9: The player at the center of the soccer world had just 10 touches in the first half, the least of any player in the match, but showed slightly better in the second half with seven touches in the opposition box and a shot on target.
LM: Christian Pulisic—6.0: Picking up a slight injury midway through the first half, Pulisic failed to play at the level so many had dreamed of.
SUB: Gio Reyna (46’ for Dest)—6.9: Reyna showed some life in the late stages of the game, but struggled to make any difference on the ball through most of his performance.
SUB: Sebastian Berhalter (59’ for Pulisic)—6.5: A screaming shot from distance which kissed the post, Berhalter showed intensity after entering for the final half hour.
SUB: Ricardo Pepi (72’ for Adams)—6.4: Most likely expecting a start given the Balogun situation, Pepi didn’t look up to the task off the bench.
SUB: Max Arfsten (90’ for Robinson)—N/A: Didn’t touch the ball.
SUB: Haji Wright (90’ for Balogun)—N/A: Made an accurate pass.
Subs not used: Matt Turner (GK), Chris Brady (GK), Auston Trusty, Joe Scally, Miles Robinson, Brenden Aaronson, Tim Weah, Alex Zendejas,
What the Ratings Tell Us
- Matt Freese was not up to the task when faced with the pressure of taking on a top team in the world. His mistake will forever live in USMNT history and ended the dream run.
- The center backs had a terrible day, and the USMNT World Cup farewell for Tim Ream was as bad as one could imagine. Chris Richards will lead the future, but who will be beside him?
- Folarin Balogun did not have much help, and the team failed to provide much energy, but the quiet performance after the chaos of the news cycle will likely follow him for the rest of his career.
The Numbers That Explain the Historic Defeat
- The lack of creation and energy was evident in the Expected Goals , where the USMNT had just 0.67 compared to 2.15 for Belgium. Zero big chances is also quite a number in a match of such magnitude.
- The USMNT finished with just two crosses in the entire game, a dire number considering the entire second half should have been about finding any opportunity to score in the attacking areas.
| Statistic | USMNT | Belgium |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 56% | 44% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 0.67 | 2.15 |
| Total Shots | 7 | 15 |
| Shots on Target | 2 | 7 |
| Big Chances | 0 | 4 |
| Passing Accuracy | 87% | 81% |
| Fouls Committed | 11 | 9 |
| Corners | 3 | 5 |
