The USMNT is done at the 2026 World Cup after a 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16. And the scoreline honestly flattered them. Belgium dominated basically every phase of the game, and it took a genuinely brilliant free kick from Malik Tillman to keep the score from looking even worse. This was the same round the U.S. have crashed out of in each of the last three World Cups. That pattern is starting to feel like a ceiling. Or a curse.
Here are the grades for every starter, the subs, and head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Starters
GK Matt Freese — 2
Freese made a couple of decent stops early. But he never came up with the kind of save that keeps a team alive in a knockout game. The third goal was a nightmare — he dropped the ball right to a Belgian attacker who basically had a tap-in. Freese is 27. He’s young for a goalkeeper. But World Cup starts don’t grow on trees. That could be his last one.
CB Tim Ream — 1
Ream looked every bit his 38 years. He was slow to react on the first goal, got outmuscled in the air on the second, and then fell over trying to block the third. Normally he’s at least competent on the ball. Not tonight. He was giving it away like it was a hot potato.
CB Chris Richards — 4
Richards was probably the best of a bad backline. That’s not saying much. He made a few clearances and didn’t turn it over as much as the other center backs. But he never really slowed Belgium down either.
CB Alex Freeman — 5
Freeman is 22 and played with some energy. He wasn’t terrible. But he also didn’t do anything that made you think he’s ready to boss a World Cup knockout game. Some of his offensive limitations were because Dest kept losing the ball on his side. Still, for a young guy in his first World Cup, there’s something to build on for 2030.
RWB Sergino Dest — 3
Dest was so bad that Pochettino pulled him off. And it had to happen. He gave the ball away constantly, couldn’t clear it out of his own box, and let Belgian wingers fire crosses in at will. He looked overwhelmed by the moment. That’s a problem for a player with his experience.
LWB Antonee Robinson — 5
Robinson was fine. No major defensive meltdowns. He didn’t turn it over as much as Dest or Pulisic. It’s a low bar, but he cleared it.
CM Tyler Adams — 4
Adams had a good World Cup overall. This was not his best game. The Belgian midfield ran through him, and Kevin De Bruyne wasn’t even on the field. When Sebastian Berhalter came on and looked noticeably sharper, it sort of said everything.
AM Weston McKennie — 5
McKennie tried. He made some nice passes and was okay in possession. But for a guy who’s supposed to be one of the team’s stars, he didn’t grab the game by the throat. You want more from him in a match this big.
AM Malik Tillman — 8
The one bright spot. Tillman scored an absolute rocket of a free kick, but he was the best American on the pitch long before that. He didn’t look scared. He kept fighting. Without him, this game would have been a 4-0 slog.
AM Christian Pulisic — 0
Captain America was a disaster even before he got hurt. He turned the ball over every time Belgium pressured him. He created nothing. He came into this World Cup banged up and out of form and leaves the same way. Skipping the Gold Cup looks like a bad call. And maybe it’s time to stop pretending Pulisic is the guy who’ll carry this program to the next level. He’s just not that right now.
ST Folarin Balogun — 6
Balogun played alright. He made some runs, got a couple of half-chances. Could he have finished one of them? Maybe. But the service was so bad that it almost didn’t matter what he did.
Subs
AM Gio Reyna (45+ min) — 4
Reyna didn’t turn it over every time he touched it, which was an improvement on Pulisic. But he didn’t really do much else. He’s the kind of player who either gives you something brilliant or nearly nothing. There’s no middle ground.
CM Sebastian Berhalter (31+ min) — 7
Berhalter looked good off the bench. He fought hard and gave the midfield some stability. In hindsight, maybe Pochettino should’ve started him over Pulisic and brought Pulisic off the bench. It might have helped control the game earlier.
ST Ricardo Pepi (18+ min) — 3
Pepi did his usual thing. Some decent runs. Pulled a defender or two away from the play. But he never looked like he was going to score.
LWB Max Arfsten (stoppage time) — N/A
Barely touched the ball. The fourth official held him up on the sideline for some reason. No chance to make an impact.
ST Haji Wright (stoppage time) — N/A
Same situation. Came on way too late to matter.
Manager
Mauricio Pochettino — 7
Pochettino was excellent for most of the tournament. But you can’t scheme around individual errors and a complete lack of composure from your key players. Maybe he should have pulled Ream earlier or started Berhalter. That’s hindsight talking. Overall, Poch did a great job just getting this group to the knockout stage. The players let him down against Belgium.
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