Belgium eliminates U.S. men from World Cup in Seattle upset

Belgium exposed the gap between promise and progress in Seattle, beating the United States 4-1 on July 6 and sending Mauricio Pochettino’s team out in the World Cup round of 16 once more. The loss denied the Americans a quarterfinal berth for the first time in 24 years and extended a grim run: four straight World Cups have now ended for the U.S. men at the same stage.

The scoreline also sharpened the pressure on a program playing on its biggest home stage in decades. This tournament is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and it is the first World Cup played on U.S. soil in 34 years. Pochettino entered the match with the most World Cup wins of any U.S. men’s manager, but Belgium controlled the decisive moments, and the sideline frustration was visible as the Americans lost shape and urgency. Christian Pulisic, back after earlier fitness problems, was forced off in the second half with an ankle injury, further thinning a roster that again looked short of answers when the margin tightened.

Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere delivered the knockout blow with two goals and an assist. Malik Tillman scored the United States’ lone goal, but it never changed the balance of the match. The Americans again reached the elimination round only to stall, a pattern that says less about one bad night than about the distance still separating the U.S. from the game’s most reliable contenders.

That gap was on display again a day later in Atlanta, where Argentina erased a 2-0 deficit against Egypt and won 3-2 in the round of 16. Cristian Romero started the comeback, Lionel Messi kept Argentina alive and Enzo Fernández finished it with a stoppage-time winner. Messi’s goal kept him in the Golden Boot race, and the result pushed Argentina, the defending champion, into the quarterfinals. The difference between the two nights was stark: Argentina survived a crisis and advanced, while the United States absorbed one and went home.