Martino urges U.S. to embrace competitiveness ahead of Belgium clash

Kyle Martino treated the Belgium match as a test of whether the U.S. men had built a real tournament edge, not just a roster full of talent. He pointed to Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie as the players best suited to set that tone against one of Europe’s top sides.

The stakes were clear at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on March 28, 2026, when U.S. Soccer presented Belgium as the first of the team’s final two matches before Mauricio Pochettino named his 2026 FIFA World Cup roster. Belgium arrived ranked ninth in the FIFA men’s standings and unbeaten since March 2025, making the contest a blunt measure of how far the U.S. had come before a home World Cup cohosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The result sharpened the discussion. The USMNT led 1-0 at halftime after McKennie scored in the 39th minute, but Belgium overwhelmed the Americans after the break and won 5-2. Patrick Agyemang added the second U.S. goal in the 87th minute, while U.S. Soccer’s match summary also credited Antonee Robinson and Ricardo Pepi with assists. The collapse after the interval made Martino’s point feel less theoretical: competitiveness in this setting meant sustaining pressure, midfield control and concentration for the full 90 minutes.

Pochettino had taken a 27-player group into the March window, with Pulisic entering camp on 82 caps and 32 goals, McKennie on 62 caps and 11 goals, and Tim Ream on 79 caps and one goal. Robinson’s return carried its own significance after he missed all of 2025 international activity because of a knee injury. McKennie also stood out as the only player in the March roster who had previously faced Belgium or Portugal, a reminder that experience in elite international settings remained limited across much of the squad.

That limited history runs through the wider pressure on the program. Gregg Berhalter was dismissed in July 2024 after the United States exited the Copa América in the group stage, the first time the host nation had failed to reach the knockout rounds since the format began in 1975. The modern World Cup record offers little cushion either, with the U.S. advancing beyond the round of 16 only once, in 2002. Against Belgium, Martino’s standard was plain: if Pulisic and McKennie cannot drag that edge into a match like this, the question around this group will linger well beyond Atlanta.