USA 1 Belgium 4: Balogun flops as even Trump can’t save Pochettino’s side after freezing in World Cup exit

THE USA may have got their star striker back against Belgium – but nothing could save them from a 4-1 hammering in this round of 16 clash. The Americans spent the entire night shooting themselves in the foot against Belgium and their World Cup run was ended. Before the game, all the talk was how President Donald Trump had helped Folarin Balogun get his red card suspended. However, despite his return, he flopped, along with the rest of Mauricio Pochettino’s men. By every metric the US had a dreadful start to this game. The passing was disjointed, the defense looked shaky, and they found no way to hold possession and get settled. Read more on the World Cup That allowed Belgium to open the scoring early, getting one in the back of the net in the ninth minute. A sequence of poor defense allowed Belgium to keep the ball in the box until it bounced to striker Charles De Ketelaere who had no issue scoring from inside the six-yard box. The first hydration break was a saving grace for the US, who were completely outclassed through the first 20 minutes. And it was that break that helped the Americans get on the board with some more free kick magic from Malik Tillman. Most read in Sport He scored his second free kick in as many matches after Balogun won a foul just outside of the box. And a deflection off of Hans Vanaken’s head helped the ball on its way into the net in the 31st minute. That massive momentum swing didn’t last long though, as De Ketelaere used his head to score his second goal of the night in the 33rd minute. He went right over the top of Tim Ream to score a goal that was simply too easy. The US regained some of the momentum for the remainder of the half, but they entered the break down 1-2. Pochettino’s squad found some life after halftime, pulling the possession into their favor. How to watch the 2026 World Cup THE 2026 World Cup is finally here - and you can get some incredible deals to watch all the action. All 104 matches will be broadcast on Fox and FS1, and can be watched through a number of streaming services. We have all the places to watch the USMNT and the rest of the world fight it out this summer. *If you click on a link in this boxout we will earn affiliate revenue - Hulu + live TV: subscribe here for just $12.99 a month! - DirecTV: subscribe here from $84.99 a month! - Sling TV: subscribe here starting at $34.99 a month! How to buy USMNT World Cup jerseys The 2026 World Cup is HERE and you can support the USMNT with two stylish new jerseys to wear in the tournament. You can rep the boys in the stars and stripes this summer by picking up your own authentic home and away kits. Below you’ll find some places to buy the USMNT’s 2026 World Cup jerseys. *If you click on a link in this boxout we will earn affiliate revenue But the offense just couldn’t click in the attacking third, and the USA continued to fail at creating big chances. And they committed their biggest error of the tournament, with goalkeeper Matt Freese coming out of the box and immediately giving the ball to the Belgians. Hans Vanaken ended up with the easiest goal he’ll ever score in the 57th minute. From then on out the US looked emotionally defeated, and never threatened to put themselves back in the contest. Belgium put the cherry on top of their performance with a goal from Romelu Lukaku in the third minute of injury time after Richards gave the ball away on a poor pass. That pretty much summed up the entire day for the Americans. “Even when we scored, and we scored the goal to make it 1-1 we conceded. It was really tough from the beginning,” Pochettino said after the game. “I want to congratulate Belgium. They were better than us. I think it wasn’t our day. “That is not to find excuses or not to find argument because we didn’t show what normally the team can show. But that is a reality. “I think we need to learn. It is a process to learn. We need to assess the game and we need to see why we didn’t approach the game in the same way as the rest of the World Cup. “Different reasons. Maybe the explanation is so easy. “It wasn’t our day. We need to be more collective and individual. Of course, the principal responsibility is myself. It wasn’t the performance that we normally play.” It truly was a tragic defeat for the team, who looked so much better throughout the tournament than they did in this loss. A knockout win in the round of 32 was historic, but fans will have a sour taste in their mouths with how the tournament ended. The US will be watching the rest of this World Cup from home.