Маурисио Почеттиногийн удирдсан АНУ-ын шигшээ баг ДАШТ-ий шөвгийн 16-д Бельгид 4:1-ээр хожигдож, тэмцээнээс хасагдлаа.
АНУ-ын шигшээ баг Босни ба Херцеговиныг 2:0-ээр буулган авч, 2002 оноос хойш анх удаа ДАШТ-ий хасагдах шатанд ялалт байгуулсан нь багийн хувьд оргил үе байв. Гэвч Бельгитэй хийсэн тоглолтын 57 дахь минутад хаалгач Мэтт Фриз алдаа гаргаж, улмаар Тим Римын хамгаалалтад алдаа гарснаар Ханс Ванакен гоол оруулсан нь тоглолтын эргэлтийн цэг болсон юм. Энэхүү харамсалтай алдааны дараа АНУ-ын тоглолт эрс суларч, өрсөлдөгчдөө илт давуу боломж олгосноор тэмцээнээ өндөрлүүлжээ.
Тоглолтын дараа дасгалжуулагч Маурисио Почеттино тоглогчиддоо хандан, энэхүү ялагдлын шаналалыг ирээдүйн амжилтын төлөөх хөшүүрэг болгон ашиглахыг уриалсан байна. Мэтт Фриз багийнхаа ялалт бүрийн төлөө чин сэтгэлээсээ тэмцсэн бөгөөд олон сая үзэгчийн өмнө эх орноо төлөөлөн тоглосон нь мартагдашгүй дурсамж үлдээснийг онцоллоо.
Тэрээр ирэх долоо хоногт Нью-Йорк Сити-гийн бүрэлдэхүүнд эргэн нэгдэж, МЛС-ийн улирлын тоглолтуудад оролцоно. Түүнчлэн долдугаар сарын 29-нд Шарлотт хотноо болох МЛС-ийн бүх оддын тоглолтод Тим Римийн хамт оролцох хуваарьтай байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
The final whistle blew in Santa Clara, Calif., and the stadium erupted. Players embraced and celebrated on the field.
A solid performance turned defiant in the second half of the World Cup’s new round of 32, when the U.S. men’s national team went down to 10 men following the controversial sending-off of Folarin Balogun. The team grew stronger, got a cathartic free-kick goal from Malik Tillman and beat Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2-0 — the first World Cup knockout win for the U.S. men since 2002.
The sold-out crowd began singing a famous rendition of “Country Roads,” with players arm in arm on the field enjoying it. Goalkeeper Matt Freese, who kept a clean sheet in that game, would later point to this as his favorite moment at the World Cup. It shouldn’t be hard to pick out his least favorite.
Merely five days later in Seattle, he and the team were mired in despair, experiencing the highs and lows only sports can conjure all within a rapid, chaotic window.
The U.S. was eliminated by Belgium, 4-1, thoroughly outplayed in the round of 16. But the third Belgian goal — the true back-breaker — came following a Freese error. He raced off his line and out of the U.S. box to track a long ball over the top. While he beat Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere to the ball, he flubbed his left-footed attempt to clear the danger. He reacted by quickly trying to go with his right, but his kick hit off De Ketelaere and right to the waiting feet of Hans Vanaken.
The Belgian midfielder wasted no time pouncing on Freese’s 57th-minute gaffe — which was then compounded by defender Tim Ream whiffing on an attempted block that would have prevented the goal. Instead, Vanaken’s shot bounced casually into the back of the U.S. net, and with that, for all intents and purposes, the Americans’ World Cup came to an end.
Belgium finds a third pic.twitter.com/0m1Hu4qzwR
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 7, 2026
A 2-1 match suddenly turned into a two-goal game after an all-time U.S. blunder at the worst possible time.
“It hurt. It was devastating,” Freese told The Athletic. “In that moment. In the hours and days after that.”
Once the players peeled themselves off the grass after the final whistle, Mauricio Pochettino rounded up the team on the field for one more speech, imploring the group to continue believing in the future. To use this pain as motivation.
“In the moment, it’s hard to even hear, because it means our journey is done,” Freese recalled. “We didn’t want it to end. But that speech is something you look back on in six months when you need motivation. In two years when you’re gearing up for the summer of 2028. You look to the memory of that when it’s 6 a.m. and your alarm clock goes off on a Tuesday when you try to be the first one in the facility.”
The elimination came as a shock. Not that the team lost — there was confidence in the U.S. locker room and among the fanbase as well after an inspiring group stage — but the manner and speed with which the exit transpired. Though the U.S. briefly equalized through a deflected Tillman free kick in the first half and tried to fight coming out of the halftime break before Belgium put the game away, it was clear from the opening whistle who had the upper hand.
Matt Freese is pressured by Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere before committing the gaffe that led to Hans Vanaken’s back-breaking goal (David Ramos / Getty Images)
It was an awful time for the U.S. to produce its worst performance at the World Cup, with a record American audience watching on TV and momentum and optimism seemingly soaring.
“The first thing that comes to mind is how badly I wanted it and how badly we wanted it as a group,” Freese said. “We always said we wanted to win the World Cup. It was not a fake, PR answer. It was genuine.”
Though the loss leaves a sour taste, as time passes by, plenty of positives will be remembered. The group stage and feeling of the fans unifying behind the team was special, Freese said. For the goalkeeper, he’ll keep thinking of those scenes following the Bosnia win and “Country Roads” karaoke.
“I hadn’t really taken in the other wins. The emotions were gratitude and pride,” Freese said. “To play in front of that crowd, to win a game and know there was (over 33 million) people watching that game. In a moment like that, the country is united. To be on the field for that was incredible.”
After confronting his moment of USMNT infamy, Freese returns to action next week. His New York City FC resumes its MLS season next Wednesday in Columbus vs. the Crew before welcoming the Chicago Fire and new signing Robert Lewandowski to Yankee Stadium three days later. From there, both he and Ream, who were at the heart of that blunder vs. Belgium, will take their place as MLS All-Stars in Charlotte on July 29. They’ll be joined there by World Cup teammates Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten. There is life after a colossal mistake. And for Freese, there’s more to remember from this World Cup than the one moment of devastation.
“My hope for this tournament is to not just continue the growth of the game at the same rate, but to spike that growth and catalyze a newfound love for the game in this country,” Freese said. “Seeing jerseys and posters flood the streets of the cities we were in, seeing videos of the same things happening all over the country, those are scenes I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
