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Good morning, I'm Dan Gartland. I'm genuinely stunned by how drastically different the U.S. performed last night compared to the rest of the tournament.
In today's SI:AM:
🇺🇸 U.S. eliminated
🇵🇹 Ronaldo's WC run comes to a close
☘️ Celtics' plans after Brown
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That was ugly
That's the U.S. men's national team we've grown accustomed to watching.
The U.S.'s dream World Cup run came to an abrupt end on Monday night with a humiliating 4–1 defeat to Belgium in the round of 16. The Americans were toothless in attack and disorganized in defense. They never had a real shot.
Belgium took control early with a goal in the ninth minute from Charles De Ketelaere, and every time it seemed the U.S. might be clawing their way back, Belgium responded. The U.S. leveled things with a stunning free-kick goal from Malik Tillman in the 31st minute, but Belgium struck again just a minute later through De Ketelaere once more. The Americans created several decent opportunities late in the first half to equalize but failed to convert. They came out with energy in the second half, yet any hope of a comeback was effectively extinguished when a catastrophic error by American goalkeeper Matt Freese gifted Belgium a third goal in the 57th minute. Veteran Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku twisted the knife with a statement goal deep into stoppage time.
It was a deeply deflating conclusion to what had been a previously encouraging World Cup campaign. The composed, talented side that had performed so impressively earlier in the competition was unrecognizable, replaced by a disjointed, mistake-riddled team that was completely outplayed by its opponent.
The weight of expectation on this team was immense, as it always is for a host nation at the World Cup. Going into the tournament, the hope was that the U.S. would achieve its best-ever men's World Cup result, at minimum matching the quarterfinal run from 2002. The combination of hosting the World Cup and a squad packed with exciting players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Folarin Balogun had pushed expectations to unprecedented heights.
Perhaps that burden weighed on them Monday night in Seattle. They certainly appeared rattled from the outset. But one also has to question how much of that unease stemmed from the team being suddenly dragged into an international controversy by President Donald Trump just 36 hours before kickoff, when FIFA lifted Balogun's red card suspension following Trump's direct appeal to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Unlike when Trump crashed the NBA Finals with all the subtlety of Freese venturing outside the 18-yard box and slept through the Knicks' first defeat in a month, there is no Game 4 for the USMNT to bounce back from.
"It didn't affect our performance. It's not an excuse," U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino said regarding the Balogun controversy. "I think we were not good enough. It wasn't our day. We didn't perform in the way that we're supposed to perform or show our quality. All that was happening around [with the Balogun situation], it was around us, but I think it wasn't a situation that affected us in the group."
Whatever the cause of the team's underwhelming display, Monday night's defeat will leave U.S. fans spending the next four years asking "What if?" The U.S. fielded a squad made up largely of players from Europe's top leagues, competing in a once-in-a-generation home World Cup in front of their own supporters. They should have gone further.
That's not to take anything away from Belgium. The Belgians boast several players who are superior to anyone on the U.S. roster — Thibaut Courtois, Jeremy Doku and Lukaku among them — yet they had been far from convincing up to this point. They drew their opening two World Cup matches (against Egypt and Iran), managed a 5–1 win over New Zealand (the tournament's lowest-ranked side) and were largely dominated by Senegal in their round of 32 clash before staging a miraculous comeback to advance in extra time. The Americans' premature exit would have been easier to accept had they at least put up a fight. Bowing out so meekly will leave a bitter aftertaste all the way until 2030.
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The best of Sports Illustrated
The top five…
… things I caught yesterday:
5. A sharp defensive play by Rockies reliever Jimmy Herget to wriggle out of trouble in the 10th. (Herget surrendered a walk-off single to the Dodgers' Dalton Rushing in the 11th, though.)
4. Geraldo Perdomo's home run where he swung with such force his helmet flew off.
3. Natisha Hiedeman's clever shot just before the shot clock expired.
2. Malik Tillman's free-kick goal, his second in consecutive games.
1. Ferran Torres's inch-perfect pass to set up Mikel Merino's match-winning goal for Spain.
Dan Gartland authors Sports Illustrated's flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, and hosts the "Stadium Wonders" video series. He joined the SI team in 2014, after previously being published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a Fordham University graduate, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).