SEATTLE – “It feels exactly the same,” Tyler Adams quipped.The build-up to the U.S. men’s national team’s World Cup round of 16 was certainly different this time around. Between playing on home soil in front of electric, sold-out crowds and a string of entertaining wins behind them, head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s side seemed in as great a position to reach their first quarterfinal in 24 years when they met Belgium at Lumen Field on Monday. In an instant, though, it was over – Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere scored nine minutes in, the forward taking advantage of a team that had not hit its stride and never would. A 4-1 loss was a fair result for a group that did not actually rise to the occasion, barely taking a stab at getting into the game and booking their fourth straight round of 16 exit at the World Cup.”Belgium, they had a good game plan and they played balls in behind us when we pressed and it caused a lot of problems, won a lot of second balls and they were good in the boxes,” Christian Pulisic said. “That’s where the game comes down to and they were clinical and it was not quite enough from us.”Pulisic, who came off in the 59th minute after tweaking his ankle and knee in the same play, offered the natural conceit that Belgium were simply better, both on paper and on the day. It was always destined to be the case at some point during this World Cup, no matter how ambitious or hopeful people were about this version of the USMNT. He is not wrong that small things went against them, the team always trying to punch above their weight. The moments that actually slipped away from them, though, were a step below the actual level expected of them. Hans Vanaken’s goal to put Belgium 3-1 up in the 57th minute was the instance where it all slipped away, Matt Freese with a blunder of epic proportions to seal the deal.”Disappointed for my involvement and error in judgment on the third goal,” Freese, whose rise from zero caps at the start of June 2025 to Monday’s game likely means his international career will be defined by that great mistake, said. “It’s part of the position. I know the guys in front of me did everything they could today to get the win and I’m so proud of them and I wish that that moment was different and wish the result was different … I felt him so close, I thought he was going to kick my leg and so I tried to get out of it.”
Freese is merely one of several players whose opportunities came and went, just as the…
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2026-07-07 13:41:01
