beyond the back page The tricky questions the USMNT is facing after World Cup went sideways By Jake Nisse Published July 8, 2026, 7:49 a.m. ET Belgium's Amadou Onana (left) vies for the ball with the United States' Christian Pulisic during Belgium's knockout round win on July 6, 2026. AP Photo/Manu Fernandez Two days on from the USA’s deflating loss against Belgium, the disappointment remains. And plenty of questions still linger.
Assessing this World Cup performance, which ended with a 4-1 thud on Monday, is a bit difficult. Mauricio Pochettino’s side captured hearts and minds in their three wins, but saw their goodwill erode after Folarin Balogun’s red-card ban was controversially suspended. The team then failed its biggest test against Belgium.
We’ll have to wait another four years to watch the USA on the world stage of men’s soccer. But it’s not too early for a retrospective on this tournament.
Was this actually a step forward?
