What began as disappointment for USA supporters quickly hardened into anger on Monday night, as fans criticized the team’s World Cup elimination against Belgium and branded the performance “pathetic.”
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd in Seattle, the Americans endured a miserable Round of 16 outing, conceding four goals in a defeat that brought their tournament run to an abrupt and deflating end.
The backlash arrived almost immediately after the final whistle, with supporters flooding social media to vent their frustration. One fan wrote: “Embarrassing result. Optimist in me wants to hope there was enough positive in this World Cup to help the sport here in the U.S. Either way, gross way to go out.”
Another was even more blunt, posting: “The team didn’t get off the bus tonight. 11 guys (with moments of exceptions from about 3 of them) who could not handle the moment in any capacity whatsoever. Pathetic effort.”
As expected, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy also became part of the conversation, using a string of posts on X to make clear just how little patience he had for any attempt to put a positive spin on the defeat.
“I don’t want to hear that the future is bright for American soccer,” Portnoy wrote in one post. “That they should be proud. That was a disgusting effort. We’re far closer to the bottom than the top. Just not a soccer country.”
Fans gathered at watch parties around the country but were left devastated by the result
Mauricio Pochettino led the team to a worrying 4-1 loss to Belgium to mark the end of the road
In another post, he added: ‘Embarrassing effort from the United States. Lights were way too bright for US soccer team. Stage way too big. If we’re gonna keep creating international incidents over soccer it may be time to institute a soccer draft.’
In a third post, amid a stream of consciousness on the social media app, he referred to the team as a ‘clown show’, and also posted a video of himself ripping his shirt off to throw it in the trash.
Elsewhere, another fan claimed: ‘Just honestly an embarrassing performance from USMNT in Round of 16. They didn’t look right from the start, & just completely off.
‘I honestly don’t think Belgium played that great, it was USA hurting themselves with terrible mistakes that you don’t expect from a team playing at this level. At least 2 Belgium goals were easily preventable. Disappointing, I understand they’re not on Belgium’s level but they had a chance to do something special & at least be more competitive on home soil.’
In the game in Seattle, Charles De Ketelaere scored twice for the European giants, before a woeful goalkeeping error from Matt Freese allowed Hans Vanaken to add a third.
In injury time, Romelu Lukaku compounded the Americans’ misery with a fourth goal, ending America’s chances of a quarterfinal match-up with Spain back in LA on Friday afternoon.
The humbling loss marked the end of the road for Mauricio Pochettino and his US team at the Round of 16 stage, with question marks now surrounding whether the $6 million-a-year coach will continue in his role.
He is approaching the end of his contract, but revealed on Monday night that he has not yet decided what comes next.
‘I think now, because we were talking with the Federation, it is [time] to rest a little bit, to have conversations and see what the decision is from the Federation and from us,’ he said after watching his team crash out of the World Cup.
Star defender Chris Richards reacts at the full-time whistle, as negativity poured in online
Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku (right) celebrates after scoring Belgium’s FOURTH of the game
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‘But I’m so happy, we built a very good relationship. Now is not the moment to talk about that.’
On the FOX broadcast, meanwhile, the likes of Alexi Lalas and Carli Lloyd were also tasked with picking through the bones of the defeat, and the latter in particular made sure to not pull any punches.
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The US soccer legend, who is a two-time World Cup winner herself, said of the men’s team: ‘I just felt like they lost the game before they even stepped out onto the pitch.
‘I’m not sure why, and I don’t know the reasons, but from the beginning, just chasing, tentative. Scared, just not confident on the ball and I think big-time players – you wanted some of those big-time players to step up in big moments.’
She went on to pick out Christian Pulisic, saying of the AC Milan superstar: ‘I think, whether he wants to be the star of this team or not, we didn’t see enough from him in this particular game. And really the whole World Cup. Little glimpses here and there.’
Lalas, meanwhile, said he will look back on the tournament believing that the United States ‘left something on the table’.
‘There’s a part of me that says the time for moral victories is over,’ Lalas said on FOX’s postgame show. ‘We’ve left something on the table here, and that to me is disappointing.
Dave Portnoy, who has become a diehard US fan during the tournament, called them ‘pathetic’
Alexi Lalas said he believes the USA team ‘left something on the table’ at the World Cup
‘I also know that it’s going to be disappointing to the players and to Mauricio Pochettino when they look at this game.
‘The goals that they gave up at times were self-inflicted against a better team, but this US team has beaten better teams in the past.’
On social media, it was Pulisic taking the brunt of the abuse from devastated fans, with one claiming: ‘It’s time for Pulisic to give up the Captain America moniker.’
The team’s star man came off late in the game against Belgium with an apparent injury and he looked to be in tears as he sat on the bench alongside his teammates.
‘I like Pulisic, but for two cycles in a row he has been anointed as the star and leader… the output has yet to match the hype,’ one fan commented of the AC Milan man.
‘The most important ability is availability, and we haven’t seen him show on the biggest stage. I’m not sure Berhalter and Tillman aren’t the midfield pieces of the future.’
The American team exits the tournament with a Donald Trump-shaped cloud hanging over it, with the president having wreaked havoc in the build-up to the Belgium game.
The saga began after Folarin Balogun was sent off in the previous round against Bosnia, and subsequently handed a one-match ban.
After some interference from the president, who lobbied FIFA president Gianni Infantino to overturn the red card, Balogun was allowed to play in the last-16 clash, much to the fury of the Belgians – and much of the rest of the rest of the world.
Trump phoned Infantino to ensure that Balogun’s red card against Bosnia was overturned
Fans on the National Mall in Washington DC react to their country being knocked out
While the team itself had no impact on the decision, nor had they asked for Trump to weigh in, it led to the US becoming something of a villain for opposing fans.
An Iran FA spokesperson on Tuesday morning said: ‘Now the whole world is dancing to celebrate politics’ humiliating defeat by football.’
While Belgium, who were furious with Trump’s Balogun intervention, wrote on their official social media accounts: ‘Overturn this.’
At the final whistle the announcer on Turkish television joked: ‘USA is out of the World Cup… unless there’s a last-minute change.’
