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| USMNT players stunned by loss |
I had on my USA jersey and the popcorn was all popped. I foolishly sat down and wanted to watch the the U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) plow their way into the quarter finals to play against Spain. I was all in and excited about them defeating Belgium and then moving on. How naive was I to think that would happen? Well, up until this point I had no reason to doubt that it would happen as I envisioned.
In front of a capacity crowd at Lumen Field in Seattle, head coach Mauricio Pochettino's team unraveled before his obviously stunned eyes as the they made severe defensive blunders and individual lapses that defied expectations. This cut their previously exciting tournament run short of the quarterfinals for what would have been a repeat visit like in 2022.
Key Match Moments
- Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere scored the first point at the 9-minute mark.
- USMNT's Malik Tillman tied the score with a free kick at 31-minute mark.
- A little more than a minute later, De Ketelaere struck again giving his team a lead they would not relinquish.
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| Freese can't believe what he did! |
- In the most disastrous moment for USMNT, goalkeeper Matt Freese inexplicably abandoned the goal to try to control the ball, setting up an easy goal for Belgium's Hans Vaneken at the 57- minute mark
- The coup de grace happened when Belgium's Romelu Lukaku scored the final goal, shoving a dagger into the USMNT's players and fans' hearts.
The Balogun Controversy
Before the match even started, something weighed heavily upon the USMNT in the form of the Folarin Balogun red card incident. Balogun had received a red card in the match against Bosnia Herzegovina – which meant that he would have an automatic suspension.
Reviewing the video over and over again, I had a hard time believing that this play – involving Balogun stepping on his opponent's ankle – happened deliberately. There is even video footage of a previous match in the tournament showing Argentina's Lionel Messi doing basically the same thing, and he received no penalty.
Check out this video to compare the Messi play with Balogun's red card moment. What do you think?
United States President Donald J, Trump made a phone call to FIFA to ask for the play to be reviewed. In a highly unprecedented move, FIFA overturned the suspension clearing Balogun to play in the match against Belgium. Ironically, his presence barely had an impact on the game making the decision to allow him to play seem meaningless.
I'm sure if Balogun had a greater impact on the outcome of the game that Belgium would have protested his presence.
Moving Forward in the Tournament
At this point, the host countries – the United States, Canada, and Mexico – are out of the tournament. Belgium moves on to meet Spain in the quarterfinals – a match that would have proved to be a significant challenge for the USMNT.
I still would have liked to see my team take on Spain, but I have now no interest in that match between Belgium and Spain in Los Angeles on Friday. My focus will now be to follow Argentina and root for Messi and company to head to the finals.
Final Thoughts
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| Disappointed fans processing the loss |
The USMNT had a great run and thrilled American fans along the way. This was a disappointing loss, and I know loyal fans including me feel like our bubbles have burst.
I believe this World Cup being played in North America has brought a new awareness about the sport to a wider audience – especially a wider American audience. That is good for the sport and good for Americans as well.
*Please check out this video regarding the USMNT's loss to Belgium.
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