USA 1-4 Belgium: World Cup 2026 last 16 – live

Mauricio Pochettino: “From the beginning, we didn’t connect with the game. Even when we scored the goal, we conceded the next action. Congratulations Belgium, they were better than us. We didn’t show what this team can show.”

Fox’s Jenny Taft then asks what the fan support means to him, but his answer isn’t related to the question. Maybe he didn’t hear it or understand it?

“It’s a process to learn. We need to assess our game and see why we didn’t approach the game in the same way as the rest of the World Cup.”

It’ll be interesting to see if Pochettino sticks around. He deserves a bit of blame here. His tactics left Ream and Richards exposed. He waited far too long to make substitutions, and unless there are some injuries we don’t know about, they didn’t make a lot of sense. Why take off Tyler Adams?

Prakhar Gupta: “After initial optimism that this World Cup would be a momentous one for Asia (Japan) or Africa (Morocco/Senegal), it is now looking more like South American-Europe World Cup.”

Yeah, there’s a chance Europe could end up with six quarterfinalists. Either South America or Africa will have two. (Most likely South America.)

Postgame mail

Alexandra Ashton agrees with my assessment: “In the buildup to this match and in general during the World Cup, I talked to quite a few Americans who took their good performances in the group stage, particularly against Paraguay, as proof that they were ready to make a glorious run deep into the competition, aided by being at home. I told them that Paraguay were so unbelievably horrid in that match that little could be concluded from that and a routine victory over Australia. In short, I’m not sure if this is a US side playing below par or if they’re just struggling facing the first side to truly match and surpass them in both technical ability and tactical thinking. Perhaps this was their level after all.”

Liisa Sletzinger agrees with my book: “Belgium has been a really good team in recent history (I’m 40 so to me that’s roughly 10-15 years at least) though they’ve been quiet this tournament. Now their talent/organization/etc is showing … USA shambolic (one of my favorite words I adopted from British commentary) slop of course helped. I’d like to blame it all on Trump and Infantino and their circle jerk of collusion and corruption with the Title 27 scandal and beyond, but USMNT still isn’t top tier quality and plays like a round of 16 and out team.”

Matthew Leung looks on the bright side of life (whistle whistle, etc.): “Did Balogun-gate get into their heads? Such a weird performance from the USA. I felt bad for Christian Pulisic, who left prematurely seemingly injured, and especially Matt Freese whose career hopefully won’t be defined by that catastrophic error. I expected a real fistfight today, and the USA completely collapsed. Still, this is a really talented bench and I hope the sport has a bright future in the States. Ironically, Balogun was shut out for most of the game. Many congrats to Belgium.”

Benjamin Poremski takes issue with the slapstick comment from the earlier mailbag: “Brutally harsh on Ream, whose only mistake was to try to catch the pratfall. Nobody remembers the name of the passerby who startles in amazement as Buster Keaton tumbles through the set.”

Alex Graham: “Where was the US whirlwind? Compare this game to their previous games and the tempo is miles off. Are they tired and/or shellshocked? I was shocked at the beginning of the game just how slow the US were on and off the ball. The tempo is the only ace they had and it went AWOL. The Belgians have been extremely ordinary and yet have won easily.”

Edward Allen: “For having had the majority of possession this far the US has done so little with it. It would be interesting to know how the average time in the ball has changed for the US in this match from the previous 4 at this tournament. It doesn’t seem to be anything special that Belgium has done to make the US ponderous on the ball. It just seems like the US made a deliberate strategy to do so, and they are incapable of changing now that it has backfired completely.”

Max Ferrer: “More than anything, it’s just sad. This is a team that played well, they were likable, and injected some much needed positivity into a depressing period for the country. They embodied the best of the US both domestically and internationally. They were a multicultural, united group that showed us and others that our country had something to positive to offer. Even after the red card, Balogun spoke publicly about feeling hard done by but responding respectfully in a conscious effort to be a positive role model. Then comes an authoritarian President that most Americans hate, and a corrupt FIFA official that the entire world hates. It’s genuinely disheartening that two despicable, petty, greedy men can come in and sweep away some of the best this game has to offer the world.”

Justin Kavanagh: “Better beer. Better chocolate. Much better football.”

Match report from Alexander Abnos is already here:

Mary Waltz: “It pains me to write this. Belgium is better. The USA isn’t ready to tske the next step. I predicted that USA would win the group. Win it’s first knockout and lose the second. But their play raised my hopes.”

They had an easy group – maybe? Perhaps Paraguay just weren’t ready for the first game? In any case, the USA hit its ceiling very hard.

Reality bites. The USA just aren’t at this level.

Too easy. Richards scuffs a clearance, and Lukaku finishes at the far post.

Romelu Lukaku scores their fourth goal past Matt Freese

90 min +2 USA foul at midfield, and now we get Haji Wright and Max Arfsten. The latter is making his World Cup debut – with that, every field player except the injured Roldan has played.

Balogun and Robinson out.

90 min The referee isn’t allowing the USA to make its subs, which is a little odd.

Stoppage time is … four minutes? Is that the least we’ve seen in the second half in this World Cup?

88 min Courtois kicks it real far.

Subs for Belgium: Trossard and Raskin out, Witsel and Saelemaekers (a Pulisic teammate at Milan) in

87 min Belgium called for a foul after sandwiching Tillman, which reminds me that I have made no references to waffles or sprouts.

85 min Doku flies past Freeman. Pass to Lukaku, who can’t get a shot but Trossard does, and Richards blocks.

84 min Question: Who should come on for the USA? Why not Haji Wright?

83 min Berhalter is run over at midfield. US free kick. They opt to possess.

82 min CHANCE FOR BALOGUN! He’s sprung by a ball over the top and has an acute angle, but Courtois’ size was always going to make that a difficult shot. The keeper swats it away. First save of the game for him.

81 min Foul on the USA, and Ream is furious. Seemed legit to me.

80 min Good tackle by Robinson, but it doesn’t lead to much.

79 min JUST WIDE! McKennie cross, ball comes back out to Berhalter, and he lets fly from near the top of the arc. It may have grazed the post. So close.

76 min A lot of the incoming email is suggesting that the controversy may have affected the USA. It’s a good question. This is not the same team that shredded Paraguay.

Robinson leaps into a tackle on Castagne, who plays on the opposite fullback position for Fulham. Probably should’ve been yellow.

75 min Or Lukaku will nearly turn the corner on Freeman, and replay shows Belgium should’ve had a corner.

75 min Free kick to Belgium deep in their own end. Courtois will take it, so the USA will gain possession.

73 min Sub, and I don’t understand it at all. Pepi is in for Adams. Why?

The commentators tell us Eddie Vedder chugged a beer on the big screen during the hydration break. The PA cranks up Alive.

Look, it’s better than Wonderwall.

Hydration mail …

Konrad Pahlke: “Slapstick has a great tradition in the US: Harold Lloyd, Laurel &
Hardy, Freese & Ream.”

Ouch. Ream actually made a solid effort under tough circumstances.

Marie Meyer: “‘Pochettino might need to do something about that.’ Everyone who remembers Poch’s Spurs knows he really doesn’t do in-game adjustments.”

Nathaniel Espino: “Look, I yield to no one in my hatred for what Trump and his voters have done to America. But how about the other 150-odd countries that let FIFA become the cesspit that it is? It’s not even our sport, and yet America (back when we had a Justice Department worthy of the name) made the biggest attempt in recent years to clean up FIFA. Where was everybody else? Sorry foreigners, this one’s on you.”

Justin Kavanagh: “In answer to Casiano Martinez’s question about Pochettino’s outfit, my theory is that whenever this USA run ends, he is going to try to blend into the nearest janitorial team in the stadium, or the first gang of garbage-picking prisoners on the highway, and then make a run for the southern border. The boxer Floyd Patterson used to bring a false mustache and glasses to each of his heavyweight championship fights for similar reasons.”

69 min Once again, Freeman is overlapping on the right. Belgium counterattack, and Tillman takes an obvious yellow card to stop it.

Do we really want to hydrate right now? Guess we should.

67 min Subs – Lukebakio leaves, and Doku is one. De Ketelaere won’t get his hat trick, as he departs in favor of Lukaku.

USA down two goals, and two outstanding players just came in for Belgium.

Paul Skilbeck: “England supporter here. As a neutral it’s a refreshing change to see two teams just playing the game in this bizarrely-referreed tournament, and leaving the cynicism out of it. I’ve come to expect nothing less from the USMNT.”

66 min Freeman gets his head to the corner kick, but it goes high into the air. Courtois watches it for several seconds before it lands out of play.

Alex Freeman competes for the ball against Maxim De Cuyper.

65 min Freeman has been overlapping like mad on the right, especially since Dest departed, and he wins a corner.

64 min Quick aside: Do you want to know why embellishment works? Because sometimes, something that looks like embellishment is a legitimate injury. Pulisic looked to me like he had exaggerated the contact on that fateful play with Tielemans, but now we see he was legitimately hurt.

62 min Belgium off to the races. Trossard shot is blocked as the USA retreat well. Corner kick.

It’s clear at this point that Belgium will be very content to counterattack the rest of the way. Pochettino might need to do something about that.

Leandro Trossard has his effort blocked by Chris Richards.

61 min Belgium go long again for De Ketelaere, who has two goals already and pressed Freese into that turnover. Ream coaxes some speed out of his 38-year-old legs and passes comfortably back to Freese.

60 min Pulisic is being treated on the bench. USA possess.

And in more bad news for the USA … Pulisic can’t continue. Enter Berhalter.

Calamity. Freese has to come outside the box to deal with a longball. He hesitates on the clearance, and he who hesitates is lost. Vanaken pounces on a loose ball with the US keeper stranded outside the box. Ream drops back to try to save it himself, then cuts a desolate figure as the ball gets past.