The USMNT lost its best striker to a red card against Belgium in the Round of 16. That should be a disaster. And yet, if you watched how this team played in the group stage — especially after Folarin Balogun got sent off against Bosnia — you probably aren’t panicking.
Mauricio Pochettino has done something that felt impossible a year ago. He turned a talented but directionless American squad into a team that actually looks like it has a plan. Possession-based. Pressing in waves. Fullbacks bombing forward. Players comfortable taking the ball under pressure in their own third. It’s the same blueprint he used at Tottenham and it works.
Balogun’s absence hurts, no question. He scored three goals in group play and led the line with a physical edge that Belgium’s aging defense won’t miss. But here is the thing. The USMNT created chances without him against Bosnia. They kept attacking. They didn’t panic.
Meanwhile, Belgium keeps looking like a team running out of time.
The Same Old Belgium Problems
Romelu Lukaku. Kevin De Bruyne. Thibaut Courtois. On paper, Belgium still has names that dwarf almost any opponent. But this isn’t 2018 anymore. The golden generation is mostly gone. What remains is a group that stumbled through group play with draws against Egypt and Iran before a desperate comeback to beat Senegal in extra time. Youri Tielemans scored a goal in the 86th minute and another two minutes later, and somehow that felt more like luck than a pattern.
The warning signs are everywhere. Belgium does not have a recognizable style. They don’t press effectively. They don’t dominate possession the way a team with their talent should. Against Senegal, they created almost nothing until Lukaku’s late finish that commentators described as coming against the run of play. That kind of individual brilliance can bail you out once. Counting on it twice against a well-coached team is a gamble.
It’s the same story that has haunted Belgium for years. Great players. No system. No identity. And in a knockout tournament where teams like the USMNT have found theirs, that gap matters more than the names on paper.
Why This USMNT Feels Different
The Americans play with a clarity that Belgium lacks. Pochettino has drilled a specific way of moving the ball and pressing without it, and the players have bought in completely. Even after Balogun’s red card, they kept their shape. They kept passing through midfield. They never looked like a team that lost its identity along with its striker.
Against Bosnia, the fullbacks kept pushing forward. Josh Sargent worked tirelessly off the ball. The midfield rotated possession patiently, waiting for openings instead of forcing bad decisions. It was controlled. Measured. Confident. That’s not how American teams have typically played in big tournaments.
And that is exactly why this matchup favors the USMNT.
Belgium will rely on individual moments. The USMNT will rely on a system that has already proven it can function without its star striker. One of those approaches holds up better over 90 minutes against a disciplined opponent.
The USMNT has already exceeded what most people expected from this World Cup. They came in with a middling record under Pochettino — 16 wins, 10 losses, 2 draws — and a lot of questions about whether the style would actually translate to tournament play. Those questions are answered. Now they face a team with more talent on paper and less evidence that it can actually win when it matters.
No one is saying Belgium can’t turn it around. De Bruyne can still hit passes nobody else sees. Lukaku can still bully defenders. But the USMNT has the tactical foundation to make them uncomfortable for 90 minutes. And in a one-game knockout round, that might be enough.
Leave a Comment