Дэлхийн аваргын шөвгийн 16-д Бельгийн шигшээ баг АНУ-ыг 4:1 харьцаатай буулган авснаар талбайн эздийн тэмцээн өндөрлөлөө.
Тоглолтын 9 дэх минутад Чарльз Де Кетеларе хамгаалалтын алдааг ашиглан тооны харьцааг нээсэн бол 31 дэх минутад Малик Тиллман чөлөөт цохилтоос тэнцээний гоолыг оруулсан юм. Гэвч ердөө хоёр минутын дараа Леандро Троссардын дамжуулалтаар Чарльз Де Кетеларе дахин гоолдсоноор Бельги давуу байдлаа эргүүлэн олж авлаа. Хоёрдугаар үеийн 57 дахь минутад АНУ-ын хаалгач Мэтт Фриз алдаа гаргаж, бөмбөг алдсаныг Ханс Ванакен хоосон хаалга руу оруулснаар тоглолтын хувь заяа шийдэгдсэн юм. Улмаар сэлгээнээс орж ирсэн Ромелу Лукаку шүүгчийн мэдлийн нэмэлт цагт тоглолтын цэгийг тавьжээ.
АНУ-ын хувьд талбайн эздийн хувьд түүхэн боломжийг алдаж, хоёр дахь удаагаа дараалан шөвгийн 16-гаас хасагдлаа. ФИФА-гаас улаан хуудасны шийтгэлийг нь цуцалснаар талбайд гарсан Фоларин Балогун төдийлөн үр дүнтэй тоглож чадсангүй. Түүнчлэн Кристиан Пулишич бэртлийн улмаас тоглолтыг дуусгаж чадаагүй нь АНУ-ын довтолгооны хүчийг сулруулсан юм.
Бельги ирэх баасан гарагт болох шөвгийн наймын тоглолтод Испанийн эсрэг хүч үзэхээр боллоо. АНУ-ын хувьд тоглолтын эхний хагаст маш эмх цэгцгүй, алдаатай тоглосон нь ийнхүү ялагдалд хүргэв.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
SEATTLE —The U.S. men’s national team came into Monday night’s round-of-16 matchup against Belgium with the chance to further galvanize a nation around their World Cup run and to get to a World Cup quarterfinal for the first time since 2002.
Instead, the cohosts’ World Cup is over, and definitively at that. Despite playing with forward Folarin Balogun — who became the center of a controversy when he was given a reprieve by FIFA from his red-card suspension, with President Donald J. Trump weighing in — the U.S. saw its dreamy run end in a 4-1 loss to Belgium at Lumen Field.
The Americans played sloppy and ugly soccer in the first half, and Belgium overwhelmed the home side. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice, first capitalizing on a mistake in the back in the ninth minute when the U.S. allowed a ball to bounce in their box, then struck again less than two minutes after Malik Tillman’s 31st-minute free-kick equalizer. This time, the 25-year-old outjumped and bullied veteran center back Tim Ream to head in a cross from Leandro Trossard.
The outcome was sealed midway through the second half when goalkeeper Matt Freese made a massive mistake, coming out to win the ball outside of his box, but then giving it away horribly for an easy empty-net finish from Hans Vanaken in the 57th minute. Romelu Lukaku, who scored in extra time against the U.S. in this round 12 years ago, capped it with a stoppage-time finish off the bench.
It was an embarrassing stamp on a massively disappointing night for the U.S., which bows out in the round of 16 for the second consecutive World Cup. Belgium, meanwhile, advances to Friday’s quarterfinal vs. Spain at SoFi Stadium.
Our writers break down the key talking points and moments from a night that started with hope and ended in dismay:
Charles De Ketelaere celebrates Belgium’s ninth-minute goal vs. USMNT (Robbie Jay Barratt / AMA / Getty Images)
Missed opportunity
With tens of millions of Americans watching, with buzz and popular support like never before, in primetime on a Monday night with a global spotlight glaring, this was an unprecedented opportunity for the USMNT, for these American players and for the sport.
And they squandered it.
They flunked the biggest test of their life.
They got beat, badly, by a team that on paper was not that much better than them, if it was even better at all.
The USMNT was favored to beat a powerful European team in the World Cup’s round of 16 for the first time ever. But with all the momentum in the world, with more talent than ever before, it looked just like the 2022 team that lost to the Netherlands. It looked just like the 2014 team that lost to Belgium, or the 2010 team that lost to Ghana. It looked far worse than the 2002 team that beat Mexico at this very same stage, then gave the Germans all they could handle in a quarterfinal.
It looked like American men’s soccer’s progress had, over the past month, been vastly overstated.
Monday won’t take away from the hearts these players won over the past month. It won’t take away from this World Cup’s broader magic. It won’t delete the moments that millions of Americans will remember. It doesn’t take away from the brilliance of players like Weston McKennie, Tillman and Balogun.
But it was a deflating, abrupt, way-too-early end to a run that felt like it could deliver so much more. – Henry Bushnell
Mauricio Pochettino reacts to the USMNT’s World Cup defeat to Belgium (Carl Recine / Getty Images)
So sloppy
For 360 minutes at this World Cup, against four opponents, with different lineups playing before four unique crowds, U.S. players flew around fields with intensity and energy. They started strong, scoring three early goals and taking the lead in all four games. They rode the wave of popular support that they felt in stadiums and around the country.
But on Monday, they did the opposite.
They were sloppy, lax, unfocused, a step or three slow throughout the first half.
On Belgium’s first goal, Sergiño Dest and McKennie simply chose not to attack a ball that was looping down from the air in the penalty box. And Belgium punished them.
But this wasn’t about individuals. It was the whole team. It was Christian Pulisic losing the ball time and time again on the left wing. It was Tyler Adams missing teammates with passes by multiple yards. It was Chris Richards nearly losing possession in his own penalty box and nearly gifting a chance to De Ketelaere.
The Belgians bossed the first half, and part of that was due to their quality. The U.S. had grown accustomed to dominating lesser opponents. On Monday, the script flipped. American pressing — the type that previously won the ball against the likes of Paraguay and Bosnia — was easily evaded. Dribbles that previously coasted into space were this time interrupted by strong Belgian tackles.
But so many U.S. players also made unenforced errors. Dest was so bad that he got yanked at halftime and replaced by Gio Reyna. Every single American in the starting 11 played levels below their best. – Paul Tenorio
Folarin Balogun started for the U.S. vs. Belgium after being cleared to play by FIFA (Maja Hitij / FIFA / Getty Images)
Balogun a non-factor after all that card controversy
Through no direct fault of his own, Balogun was a controversial figure in the world of soccer over the last 36 hours, the focal point of the tournament’s most controversial story.
On the field, Balogun was limited by the Belgian defenders and lack of chances created by his teammates. He flashed positive moments with movement in behind, and was the player fouled ahead of Tillman’s deflected free kick goal. In the 82nd minute, he had a chance well-saved by Thibaut Courtois. But otherwise, he generally wasn’t impactful.
The performance was due to be highly-scrutinized, a day after his red-card ban was controversially suspended by FIFA.
Balogun was sent off in the round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and was due to miss Monday’s match before FIFA’s dubious decision to suspend his one-match ban.
Prior to the game, the Belgian federation released a statement saying they “informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.” After this result, there should be no action necessary. – Tom Bogert
Pulisic’s unsatisfying tournament ends with injury
Pulisic exited the loss in the 59th minute, limping for several minutes after a heavy challenge. And with it, a tournament that started with so much promise — with talk of legacy and opportunity —was over amid a cloud of injury.
The first 45 minutes against Paraguay was Pulisic at his best. He was the best player on the field, a decisive and dazzling dribbler constantly creating danger.
When the second half started, he was gone. After the game, it was revealed he had suffered a calf injury, and he missed the following match against Australia before making a cameo off the bench against Turkey.
Christian Pulisic is visibly upset on the bench after being subbed off in the second half pic.twitter.com/2a0UHTCene
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 7, 2026
Pulisic didn’t hit the same heights against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 and was ineffective before his departure against Belgium.
This summer will linger for what could have been for Pulisic. He wound up not scoring any goals in the home World Cup in his prime. – Tom Bogert
The nail in the coffin
The U.S. entered this World Cup with major concerns at the goalkeeper position, a spot that historically has been a strength.
The U.S. went into the tournament with New York City FC’s Freese and the New England Revolution’s Matt Turner as their top two options, which meant the U.S. would start an MLS-based goalkeeper for the first time in its World Cup history.
Pochettino opted to go with Freese, who earned a starting job with the U.S. during the 2005 Gold Cup. The Harvard grad made his USMNT debut last June, then played through the Concacaf regional tournament. The U.S. lost in the final to Mexico, but Freese earned Pochettino’s trust. Still, the NYCFC netminder had been shaky in moments for the Americans, especially with the ball at his feet, and his play in MLS left real questions as to who would start this summer.
Turner, the 2022 World Cup starter, was playing well for New England going into the tournament, but the U.S. struggled mightily in his last three starts, which included a loss to Turkey to close out the group stage.
Belgium finds a third pic.twitter.com/0m1Hu4qzwR
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 7, 2026
The hope was that Freese would grow into the tournament, and through his first three games at the World Cup, he wasn’t called on to do much. He posted two shutouts in three games. On the biggest stage of his career, however, Freese made a massive mistake. He came out of his box to clear a long ball in the 57th minute, took it off his chest and then hesitated instead of clearing it, dragging his left foot into the grass and then playing a panicked right-footed pass off of De Ketelaere. The rebound then fell to Vanaken for an easy finish past a scrambling Ream.
On a night when almost nothing went well for the U.S. team, it was a disastrous moment for the American goalkeeper. And it gave Belgium a far-more comfortable two-goal cushion with just more than a half hour left in the game, effectively ending any positive vibes the U.S. had coming out of halftime.
