Cote: Miserable end left it a disappointing World Cup for host U.S. team | Opinion
Everybody wants a hardline, no-gray, yes or no on this, so here it is: This was not a successful men’s FIFA World Cup run for the host United States team.
It raised hope that it could be, showed promise that it might be, then ended Monday night like a car careening off a cliff. In flames.
“Disappointment” does not reflect how this ended for the American side. “Embarrassment” comes closer.
The United States breezed through the group stage, itself no great feat because Group D was soft, and because a record 32 teams went through in this expanded tournament, not the 24 of years past. Then Team USA won its first knockout game, but hold the parade on that, too. The easy path continued. The U.S. was No. 16 in the FIFA World Ranking to Bosnia & Herzegovina’s No. 61.
So making the Round-of-16 for Monday’s game against Belgium in Seattle was expected, the minimum. This has been the quadrennial ceiling. This U.S. team had to shatter that and go higher. And it failed miserably in the 4-1 loss. Thirty million saw it on Fox, the most-watched soccer game in U.S. history. They did not see a great advertisement for the American game.
Now, instead of preparing for a Friday quarterfinal match vs. Spain in Los Angeles, the U.S. Men’s National Team picks through the rubble and goes home, even though it is home. That was another reason for the high hopes that crushed this team instead of lifting it.
Monday’s exit was as much a slap of a loss for President Donald Trump as it was for the team. It was Trump who successfuilly lobbied FIFA president Gianni Infantino to overturn the red card suspension and allow U.S. leading scorer Folarin Balogun to play Monday. He did, but did little. All Balogun playing did was make the Americans seem like bullies who just lost the fight as everyone else howled laughter.
Belgium’s social media aimed a jab at Trump, FIFA and the U.S. in celebrating its win, saying, OVERTURN THIS, under the 4-1 score. We earned the trolling. Belgium had the right. Even if you thought (like I did) that Bolagun did not deserve the red card, the back-channel politics to get it overturned was unseemly, bad for the World Cup, for soccer, for sports.
Belgium is not a world power but is better than the U.S., and it showed. What we learned about this American team, among other things: Christian Pulisic, invisible when it mattered most, cannot be your best player. Matt Freese is unqualified to be a goalkeeper at this level, that third goal he allowed Monday an inexcusable display of amateurish incompetence. And defender Tim Ream has no business on the national team moving forward.
The U.S. doesn’t need a Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland to win at this level, but it needs better players all over the field. Where is American-born Lamine Yamal? Or something close?
America no longer has the excuse that soccer is new to us. U.S. players have grown up with the sport, playing since they were 4 years old like the rest of the world. The organic difference is that football/futbol is interwoven in the culture most everywhere else while it’s the third or fourth (or fifth?) biggest pro sport to most Americans.
So the U.S. is left to delay its supposed full global arrival in the sport until 2030, while the World Cup moves on with the quarterfinals, the last eight. Powerhouses Brazil and Germany are among the nations that fell short, but the next four games don’t need them: it’s a full marquee brimming with stars, and with six of the eight finalists ranked in the top 10 globally.
Our thumbnail preview:
•France vs. Morocco: Thursday in Boston — The No 1-ranked French led by Mbappe are a -175 betting favorite No. 6 and under-regarded Monaco. France is after its third World Cup win (1998, 2018); Morocco best finish, fourth in 2022.
• Spain vs. Belgium: Friday in Los Angeles — No. 3 Spain with teen sensation Yamal is a -160 betting pick over the No. 8 Belgians’ veteran squad that just handled the U.S. with such aplomb. Spain is after its second World Cup win (2010); Belgium best finish, third in 2018.
The above two winners will meet in one semifinal July 14 in Dallas.
• England vs. Norway: Saturday in Miami — No. 4 England and Harry Kane are a -105 betting fave over No. 19 Norway — the long shot (or at least lowest ranked of the final eight), despite Haaland on the attack. England is after its second World Cup win (1966); Norway best finish, first time in quarterfinals (2026).
• Argentina vs. Switzerland: Saturday in Kansas City — No. 2-ranked and reigning World Cup champ Argentina led by Lionel Messi avoided a stunning departure Tuesday in a 3-2 win over Egypt. Argentina trailed 2-0 late but roared back led by Messi’s initial goal and eighth of the tournament. Team Mess are a big betting favorite over the No. 15 Swiss, who advanced by penalty kicks Monday over Colombia. Argentina is after its fourth World Cup win (1978, 1986, 2022); Switzerland best finish, quarterfinals three times previous, last in 1954.
The above two winners will meet in the other semifinal July 15 in Atlanta.
No. 24-ranked Egypt on Tuesday gave the final eight a chance to include a real Cinderella among the powerhouses remaining.
Alas, it would have been little consolation to a U.S. team wondering, as usual, what went wrong, and how to make it right.
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 3:09 PM.
