2026 World Cup - USA team thread
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
I think Cape Vetde was an excellent team and they didn't play scared. The U.S. looked tentative from the start of this match. It was evident in their passing and continually being beaten to the ball in the middle of the pitch.
That Cape Verde team definitely would’ve caused this Belgium team way more problems and probably scored a couple of goals.
11 deer in the headlights. "Stars" didn't play like stars. Nobody played like they wanted to be the guy.
Trying to prevent it from being 5-1
The better team won...no excuses. FIFA tried to help us
Honestly...the red card penalty being "suspended" just motivated Belgium
Sometimes teams are just better than others. US best athletes don’t play soccer. It always shows when it gets to the better teams
Nothing to spin with this one. Team USA folded against a team which came ready to play.Here comes the spin.
*** kicked. USA Mens Team not ready for prime time - looked overmatched from the get go - well time to focus on the real football - PSU Football!
Perhaps the best soccer player in history, Messi, probably wasn’t one of the best athletes in Argentina when he was growing up, and had to take growth hormones when he went to Barcelona’s academy. it’s not a lack of athleticism that keeps the US from rising past a certain level so much as other tangibles and intangibles.
Agreed...losing wasn't the sad ending for me...it was the lack of urgency and debatably effort at the end
You are only as good as your weakest links: Ream and Freese. All three of the first 3 Belgian goals were on Ream and Freese. The midfield was embarrassing. They were so nervous I don't even know how they put their uniforms on for the game. Couldn't find a first touch on any pass. Like ANY pass.
For the record...I hate how this turned into "keep watching soccer". I'll watch every match that I can until the tournament is over but most fans only watch "their team". The US eventually has to beat teams like Belgium on a big stage to grow the sport. MLS is the key to that.
Three Achilles heels that worried me heading in…Goalkeeping, our back line, and Pulisic’s durability. All three were exposed tonight.
We pretty much met my expectations for the tournament…round of 16, and lost to a better team. There was a time when I worried if we’d even do that, but disappointing now that we made it here that we didn’t go further.
Looking ahead…A few guys will age out, but most of the core is back (though it’ll be one final run in 2030). Need to find a an upgrade at goalkeeper, need to lock down Banks, need a Ream replacement (see Banks comment), need Luna to keep developing, would be great if Musah finds it again, etc.
We play Belgium in Seattle 10 times and we likely beat them 4-5 of them…but Belgium really upped their game from what we’ve seen, and we didn’t match it. Tillman played really well, but we needed more to match that level.
Will be interested to see who is coaching us in 2027, but Gold Cup only 11 months away.
We pretty much met my expectations for the tournament…round of 16, and lost to a better team. There was a time when I worried if we’d even do that, but disappointing now that we made it here that we didn’t go further.
Looking ahead…A few guys will age out, but most of the core is back (though it’ll be one final run in 2030). Need to find a an upgrade at goalkeeper, need to lock down Banks, need a Ream replacement (see Banks comment), need Luna to keep developing, would be great if Musah finds it again, etc.
We play Belgium in Seattle 10 times and we likely beat them 4-5 of them…but Belgium really upped their game from what we’ve seen, and we didn’t match it. Tillman played really well, but we needed more to match that level.
Will be interested to see who is coaching us in 2027, but Gold Cup only 11 months away.
Yeah it takes athletes but it takes soccer players. Just like some really good athletes are not the best football players. I watched this game and just see how sub standard our passes and touches and ball handling are vs the elite teams. Our skill level is not up to where it should be. At this point it should be better but it is not. Same bad movie plays over and over and over.
Despite almost every starter and many of the reserves playing for European teams, this generation of players isn’t as good as the generation from 2002 to 2014. The 2002 team almost made it to the Final Four and the 2014 team played much better against a better Belgium team in a knockout game.
I find it tough to say after watching this that we'd win at least 4 times out of 10. They're the better team and it's okay we lost but 4 or 5 is claiming these teams are basically even. Don't see that at all.
Agree with everything else