Christian Pulisic and Chris Richards in tears as USMNT freeze and Belgium end World Cup dream
There will be no World Cup quarterfinals in the United States as a fit and aggressive Belgium end the hopes of hosting the final in 2026.
Standing on the brink of history, the United States collapsed in Seattle, losing 4-1 to a Belgian team that produced its best game of the tournament.
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In March, the US was defeated by Belgium 5-2 in a friendly before the World Cup and in 2014 in Germany it was Belgium who ended the hopes of the US by winning the Round of 16.
There was no revenge in 2026.
Instead of the US, it was their worst performance, as defensive disintegration and a lack of early attacking threat saw a memorable tournament end on a low note.
Mauricio Pochettino was left kicking water bottles in frustration, while America captain Christian Pulisic was seen shedding tears on the sidelines as he was sent off midway through the second half.
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When the final whistle blew, Chris Richards collapsed on the floor as tears began to flow.
Two goals from Charles De Ketelaere and one from Hans Vanakan after a bad mistake from Matt Freese and Romelu Lukaku spelled the end for Pochettino and his team.
Malik Tillman raised hopes briefly when he leveled the game with a free-kick but the US leveled on 61 seconds as De Ketelaere pulled the goal back to leave an angry Pochettino at bay.
In their fourth consecutive World Cup and sixth place in their history, the US men’s dream is dashed in the Round of 16 – and it is Belgium who advance to the quarterfinals with European champions Spain.
The US got off to a slow start, despite confirming Folarin Balogun in their starting line-up and may have been behind even earlier than De Ketelaere who opened in the ninth minute.
After Tillman and De Ketelaere exchanged goals, it wasn’t until the second half that Belgium got the victory it deserved.
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But the USMNT were the architects of their own decline.
First a shocking mistake by Freese to give away his own goal allowed Vanakan to head home from long range.
And as Settle Stadium was buzzing before it went quiet, Romelu Lukaku pounced on Chris Richards’ mistake to add a fourth.
Hopes have never been higher to reach the quarter-finals for the second time in men’s World Cup history after defeating Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
But instead the tears, and the Round of 16 that proved problematic will raise questions about Pochettino’s future.
The former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain coach had been linked with other jobs before the tournament, but has also been the subject of talks over an extension as expected.
History Makers
It means that they missed the first quarterfinal since 2002 in Korea and Japan when they beat Mexico and reached the last 8 where they lost 1-0 to Germany.
Although the U.S. Women’s Team has won four World Cups and reached at least the semifinals in eight of the nine tournaments played, the men have only recorded one quarterfinal appearance since finishing third in 1930.
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