THE USA might have gotten its star striker back for the match against Belgium – but nothing could save them from a 4-1 hammering in this round of 16 clash.
The Americans spent the entire night shooting themselves in the foot against Belgium.
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Mauricio Pochettino consoles Christian Pulisic after he is pulled from the game Credit: Getty Images
Matt Freese reacts after an error led to Belgium’s third goal of the game Credit: AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
By every metric the US had a dreadful start to this game.
The passing was disjointed, the defense looked shaky, and they found no way to hold possession and get settled.
That allowed Belgium to open the scoring early, getting one in the back of the net in the ninth minute.
A sequence of poor defense allowed Belgium to keep the ball in the box until it bounced to striker Charles De Ketelaere who had no issue scoring from inside the six-yard box.
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The first hydration break was a saving grace for the US, who were completely outclassed through the first 20 minutes.
And it was that break that helped the Americans get on the board with some more free kick magic from Malik Tillman.
He scored his second free kick in as many matches after Balogun won a foul just outside of the box.
And a deflection off of Hans Vanaken’s head helped the ball on its way into the net in the 31st minute.
That massive momentum swing didn’t last long though, as De Ketelaere used his head to score his second goal of the night in the 33rd minute.
He went right over the top of Tim Ream to score a goal that was simply too easy.
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The US regained some of the momentum for the remainder of the half, but they entered the break down 1-2.
Pochettino’s squad found some life after halftime, pulling the possession into their favor.
But the offense just couldn’t click in the attacking third, and the USA continued to fail at creating big chances.
And they committed their biggest error of the tournament, with goalkeeper Matt Freese coming out of the box and immediately giving the ball to the Belgians.
Hans Vanaken ended up with the easiest goal he’ll ever score in the 57th minute.
From then on out the US looked emotionally defeated, and never threatened to put themselves back in the contest.
Belgium put the cherry on top of their performance with a goal from Romelu Lukaku in the third minute of injury time after Richards gave the ball away on a poor pass.
That pretty much summed up the entire day for the Americans.
It truly was a tragic defeat for the team, who looked so much better throughout the tournament than they did in this loss.
A knockout win in the round of 32 was historic, but fans will have a sour taste in their mouths with how the tournament ended.
The US will be watching the rest of this World Cup from home.
