SEATTLE — Walking around Monday afternoon, it felt like a holiday. The whole city of Seattle seemed to be on pause, everyone was wearing gear, nobody was at work.
It felt like the sort of grand occasion that the sport of soccer has never been able to wring out of America had finally arrived.
And then that occasion swallowed the U.S. men’s national team whole.
After captivating the country for the better part of a month, the Americans crashed out of the World Cup on Monday night, losing to Belgium 4-1 to fall at the same Round of 16 hurdle that it hasn’t gotten past since 2002.
This team — so clearly the most talented the U.S. has ever had, coached by a giant of the sport in Mauricio Pochettino — couldn’t get any further than its predecessors.
Folarin Balogun, whose red card suspension was shockingly suspended Sunday, engulfing the World Cup in controversy, couldn’t save the USMNT. Nothing could.
Not when it looked so nervous, so shaky, so ill-prepared for such a big moment. Not when Sergiño Dest and Alex Freeman couldn’t seem to come up with a clean touch, and not when their teammates weren’t much better.
The Americans were beyond lucky to enter halftime down just 2-1, having been thoroughly outclassed through the first 45 minutes. They failed to take advantage.
Though the introduction of Gio Reyna for Dest at halftime seemed to briefly settle the USMNT, it didn’t last. Matt Freese had a shocking moment after 57 minutes, taking an extra touch on the ball outside of the area only for Charles De Ketelaere to take the ball off him and give it to Hans Vanaken. Vanaken promptly deposited it into the back of the net, skipping the ball past Tim Ream.
Christian Pulisic, who had taken a long time getting up after his foot connected with Youri Tielemans’ ankle on a shot attempt at the start of the half, was quickly hooked for Sebastian Berhalter. After an electric first 45 minutes against Paraguay, Pulisic’s World Cup never seemed to regain momentum.
The USMNT’s lack of depth — quietly a major weakness throughout the tournament — was exposed as soon as Pochettino had to change the shape of the game. Reyna, Sebastian Berhalter and Ricardo Pepi came on; none made a major impact. Pochettino didn’t use his two remaining subs until stoppage time, a concession unto itself about the lack of depth on his squad. Seconds after Haji Wright and Max Arfsten were introduced, Romelu Lukaku put in Belgium’s fourth off a brutal giveaway from Chris Richards.
The mere fact of Balogun’s inclusion will mean that outside the U.S., their loss will be seen as karmic justice. Even worse is that Balogun had no discernible impact on the game, though that was in part because the service to him was so poor.
Earlier in the game, things threatened to get out of hand quickly. Freese was forced into a diving save just 45 seconds into the match, and the U.S. didn’t get better from there. It took just nine minutes for De Ketelaere to put Belgium into the lead after Freeman’s clearing header went nowhere and Dest failed to stop Nicholas Raskin from winning the ball back and playing it across to De Ketalaere.
Malik Tillman’s free kick goal after 31 minutes — Tillman’s second in as many matches, a gorgeous knuckling ball that sent Thibaut Courtois the wrong way — was the USMNT’s first shot of the game, and seemed a lifeline.
It took all of 116 seconds for the USMNT to drop the ball, as De Ketalaere rose above Tim Ream and Jedi Robinson to head in Leandro Trossard’s cross for a 2-1 Belgium lead 33 minutes in.
Raskin and Dodi Lukebakio, the most surprising of four changes made by Rudi Garcia, proved inspired chess moves by the Belgium manager. Playing in place of stars Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku, the pair dominated.
Perhaps it wouldn’t have mattered who or how Belgium played though, such was the way in which the USMNT looked dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of the occasion. Perhaps Balogun’s return to the lineup, which had the Americans looking overjoyed at training Sunday, added too much pressure, or forced Pochettino to abandon his tactics.
After the way the USMNT played for their first four games of this tournament, looking so confident and so ready for their moment in the spotlight, this was a shocking failure.
Successful as their campaign had been until now, it’s hard to shake the feeling that none of it matters now.
This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is over, and for all the potential they showed, the U.S. couldn’t take advantage.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
