The USMNT’s 2026 World Cup run ended with a 4-1 loss to Belgium, and former national team midfielder Maurice Edu isn’t sugarcoating how he saw it. Now working as an analyst for Fox Sports, Edu went player by player with his tournament grades, and some of them are going to sting.
He started with goalkeeper Matt Freese, who made a brutal mistake in the second half. The score was 2-1 at the time. Freese botched a clearance, Belgium pounced for the third goal, and the U.S. comeback hopes evaporated. Edu gave him a 5.5.
“It’s unfortunate. I’m giving him a lower rating,” Edu said. “When most people talk about Matt Freese, what’s going to be spoken about is that moment.”
Then came Tim Ream. Edu gave the veteran defender a 6.5, but the criticism was pointed. “At the end of the day, Tim Ream wasn’t at his best on the goals. I thought he was involved in all three goals,” Edu said. Ream also had a chance to clear the ball on the play that led to Belgium’s third goal but couldn’t get there in time.
Chris Richards and Alex Freeman both got 7s. Edu said he thought they had strong tournaments overall.
He saved the 8s for two players. Weston McKennie got an 8 and was called the “joint best player in the tournament for us.” Folarin Balogun also got an 8. “He was the top performer,” Edu said.
And then he got to Christian Pulisic. Edu gave him a 6.5 and didn’t let him off easy. “Part of it is that a lot of his tournament was impacted by injury. Today, whatever you want to call today’s time in the game, is a day where he struggled to have the involvement he knows he can have,” Edu said.
Pulisic himself admitted he was disappointed with how the tournament went, both for the team and personally. But what really rubbed fans the wrong way came after the final whistle. He talked about his injury and then mentioned needing rest. On a night when the team just got knocked out of the World Cup, that didn’t sit well with a lot of people watching.
The USMNT is now headed home earlier than anyone wanted. Edu’s grades are one way to look back at what went wrong. The bigger question is what comes next for a program that keeps reaching the knockout stage but can’t push through to the quarterfinals.
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