The last co-host standing is gone now. The USMNT’s World Cup run ended Monday night in brutal fashion, a 4-1 loss to Belgium that wasn’t as close as the score suggests. The Americans came in with some real momentum after winning Group D and knocking out Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, their first knockout win since 2002. That hope evaporated fast.
Belgium came out sharp. They carved up the U.S. defense twice in the first half, and whatever adjustments the U.S. coaching staff made at halftime didn’t stick. Belgium scored two more after the break. By the time Romelu Lukaku put the fourth one in the net, the American fans in the stadium were mostly quiet. It was that kind of night.
This was a rematch nobody really asked for but everyone remembered. Back in 2014, Belgium knocked the U.S. out with a 2-1 win in Brazil. The Americans wanted payback. Instead, they got a repeat — and a worse one.
The U.S. defense looked lost on at least three of the four goals. Defenders got caught watching the ball. Midfielders didn’t track runners. Belgium’s attackers had too much space and too much time. You can’t give a team like that clean looks and expect to survive.
Offensively, the U.S. never really found a rhythm either. They had stretches where they moved the ball okay, but the final pass was always a little off. Belgium’s keeper didn’t have to make many big saves. The one U.S. goal came off a scramble in the box, a scrappy finish that felt more like consolation than a real rally.
The big question now: where does this team go from here? The 2026 World Cup is on home soil, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. But all three co-hosts are already out. That’s a rough look. The U.S. has young talent — Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Folarin Balogun — but they’ve now lost in the Round of 16 in back-to-back tournaments. Progress? Barely. At some point, getting out of the group isn’t a trophy.
Belgium moves on. They’ll face a quarterfinal opponent still to be determined. For the U.S., it’s back to the drawing board. And a long three years before anyone gets a chance to fix this.
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