When Faced With Adversity, USMNT Rolls Over and Dies....Again

Blowout loss to Belgium reminiscent of recent blowout losses to Colombia and Switzerland

Since being named the US manager in 2024, Mauricio Pochettino has preached about the importance of giving it all for the badge and fighting for the team. Saturday’s destruction at the hands of Belgium was another example of this group of USMNT players doing the exact opposite as they have done so many times over the last four years. Just last June, the US gave up four goals in a 23-minute stretch against Switzerland and never tried to get back into the game, ultimately losing 4-0. Dating back to before Pochettino took over, the US had a pre-Copa America friendly against Colombia and gave up two goals in the first 19 minutes on the way to a 5-1 demolition. Against Belgium, they gave up four goals in a 24-minute stretch either side of halftime before the Red Devils added a fifth in the final ten minutes. The especially dispiriting thing about Saturday’s loss was that it didn’t look like it was going to be that way.

Things started off so brightly for the US and it felt like this game might have been different. After all, the US was coming in riding a five-game unbeaten streak that included a draw with Ecuador and wins over Japan, Australia, Paraguay, and Uruguay (all of whom will be at the World Cup). The first half was incredibly entertaining and the crowd of 66,867 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was ready to explode every time the US players got the ball into a dangerous area. The brightest spot for the US was Antonee Robinson’s return to the lineup, and he rewarded Pochettino with a number of good chances created, including a laser beam from 35 yards out that forced a smart save from Senne Lammens in the Belgium goal. The US was eventually rewarded as Robinson delivered a corner kick that found a completely unmarked Weston McKennie inside the six-yard box to give the US a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, that was the high point of the afternoon and the lead did not last long. Not only did that lead not last, but it got oh so much worse.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, it was Matt Turner in goal in the aforementioned games against Colombia in 2024 and against Switzerland in June and again today against Belgium. Belgium’s first goal came off a Turner rebound to 30 yards away that, for reasons known only to themselves, none of the US defenders were interested in closing down allowing Zeno Debast to tie the game. Then, very quickly out of halftime, Belgium went up 2-1 through Amadou Onana after Christian Pulisic created his only chance of the game but wasted it by missing the goal by a country mile. Six minutes later Belgium got a penalty after Tim Ream was called for a handball that was upheld after a VAR review (much to the annoyance of Pochettino in the postgame press conference). Charles De Ketelaere fired it home with no doubt. Things continued to fall apart for the US eight minutes after that as Belgium went up 4-1. With less than ten minutes to play, they made it 5-1 and the only thing that prevented the game from being a complete farce was Ricardo Pepi forcing a turnover in the Belgian penalty area for Patrick Agyemang to tuck home. But a 5-2 beatdown with so little time until the World Cup only serves to underline how little the USMNT has done to get anybody to believe they have a chance to do anything real this summer.

Almost immediately after the final whistle, discussion turned to what the US response would look on Tuesday. Pochettino emphasized that it’s important for them to get these types of dispiriting results before the World Cup and not during, while players like Matt Turner and Tim Weah stressed that they need to bounce back with a good showing on Tuesday. It is perhaps worth noting that following their humiliation against Colombia in 2024, the US responded with a 1-1 draw against Brazil, only the second time in history they had gotten a result against the Selecao. And last summer, they responded to the 4-0 lobotomy from the Swiss by winning their next five games on the way to the Gold Cup Final.

So, it remains to be seen what the US will look like back at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday against Portugal. A good showing and a decent result would restore the hope that the team had given the fans with that five-game unbeaten streak at the end of 2025. But it seems quite clear that another result like this one against Belgium (and Colombia in 2024 and Switzerland in June) would send morale right back through the floor right as the US is getting set to host what should be the crowning achievement for American soccer.