The U.S. men’s World Cup run came to an end Monday night.
After days of controversy surrounding Folarin Balogun’s reinstatement, Belgium delivered the final blow in Seattle. Belgium rolled past the United States 4-1 in the round of 16.
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After all the attention surrounding his reinstated red card, including President Donald Trump claiming he called FIFA to have the card overturned, Balogun had little impact on the match.
Charles de Ketelaere scored twice as Belgium took control early, capitalizing on a string of U.S. turnovers. Hans Vanaken took advantage of a crucial mistake by goalkeeper Matt Freese to finish the match.
What the team is saying
U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino called it “a very bad day,” adding that in the World Cup, one off night is all it takes to end a tournament.
“We were not the same team that during the tournament showed the quality,” Pochettino told reporters. “Very bad day. Wasn’t our day in a collective and individual way. And we need to accept that sometimes this type of thing happens.”
Players said the controversy going on behind the scenes, however, had no impact on how they played.
“I don’t think that noise or anything affected us by any means,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “If anything, it probably uplifted us in a sense.”
A common loss
Tuesday’s loss marks the fourth time in the last five World Cups that the U.S. has been eliminated in the round of 16.
Belgium advances to the quarterfinals.
Adding insult to injury, in a clear reference to the FIFA reinstatement of Balogun, the Belgian Red Devils X account posted after the game: “Overturn this.”
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