Criticism of Pulisic

Winger Faces Backlash After Underwhelming World Cup Ends in Injury

Christian Pulisic entered his home World Cup as the face of American soccer, but the tournament he'd hoped would cement his legacy instead left him fielding pointed criticism after a quiet exit against Belgium.

The 27-year-old struggled to find rhythm for most of the first hour against the Belgians before departing with an ankle injury in the 59th minute, unable to influence a match the U.S. would go on to lose 4-1. It was a deflating way to end a tournament that began with real promise—Pulisic looked lively in the opening 45 minutes against Paraguay before a calf injury interrupted his run, sidelining him for stretches of the group stage and preventing him from ever recapturing that early form.

His postgame comments only intensified the scrutiny. Asked by Fox's Jenny Taft what had forced him off, Pulisic explained he'd sprained his ankle, called it a frustrating way to end things, but added that he now had time to rest. That final remark didn't sit well with a fanbase already stung by the elimination, and it opened the door to sharper criticism elsewhere.

Former USWNT World Cup winner Carli Lloyd was among the most vocal, saying on air that she'd expected more from Pulisic across the tournament and suggesting the USMNT's star players looked tentative and lacked confidence from the outset. She followed up on social media with a blunt jab, arguing rest is something reserved for after a career ends. Former forward Sydney Leroux echoed the sentiment, suggesting Pulisic had coasted through the tournament.

For a player often described as the best of his generation to wear the U.S. crest, the numbers told their own story: no goals and a single assist across the run. It leaves Pulisic, still very much in his prime, facing an uncomfortable reckoning over a home World Cup that never delivered the signature moment so many expected from him.

A Month of Dreams and Disappointment

Recapping the USMNT's 2026 World Cup Run

The United States' home World Cup began with a statement. In front of a raucous crowd at Los Angeles Stadium, the Americans dismantled Paraguay 4-1 in their opener on June 12, with Folarin Balogun scoring twice in the first half and late substitute Gio Reyna adding a stoppage-time finish. It was the most goals the USMNT had ever scored in a single World Cup match, and it set an electric tone for the tournament to come. However, Christian Pulisic, who was untouchable in the first half, was subbed off at halftime with an apparent calf injury.

The Americans followed that up with a composed 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle on June 19, with an own goal and Alex Freeman scoring, clinching their spot in the knockout rounds and, shortly after, their first group title since 2010. With qualification already secured, Pochettino rotated his squad heavily for the group finale against Türkiye, and the experimental lineup paid the price, falling 3-2 on a stoppage-time winner on June 25. Even in defeat, the U.S. closed the group stage with its highest point total and largest goal tally in tournament history. Pulisic was left on the bench for the victory over Australia and came on in the second half against Türkiye, showing signs of life and recovery.

The knockout rounds brought a new format wrinkle with an added round of 32, and with it, the USMNT's first win at that stage since 2002. On July 1, Balogun opened the scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina before halftime, and after his red card sent him to the locker room early, Malik Tillman sealed the win with a stunning free kick. It marked just the third time in program history the U.S. had beaten a European opponent in a knockout match.

Then came the chaos. Balogun's suspension for the red card was controversially lifted by FIFA a day before the Belgium match, a reversal reportedly prompted by a call from President Trump to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Belgium's federation said it received no explanation for the decision, and manager Rudi Garcia said he initially thought the news was an "April Fools'" joke. The episode sparked a wave of pointed reactions across Europe after Belgium won the ensuing match.

That match arrived Monday, and it unraveled quickly. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in the opening 33 minutes, sandwiching a deflected Tillman free kick that briefly tied the score. A second-half hesitation by goalkeeper Matt Freese gifted Belgium a third goal, and Romelu Lukaku added a fourth in stoppage time, sending the U.S. out 4-1 and prompting Belgium's Twitter account to post "Overturn this" afterward.

For all the disappointment, the run left plenty to build on. The U.S. won three World Cup matches for the first time ever, scored a tournament-record 11 goals, and gave Pochettino his first three victories as a World Cup manager. Tillman became the first American to score in consecutive knockout matches and just the second player on record with two direct free-kick goals in a single World Cup.

Still, questions linger about whether this generation—Pulisic, McKennie, Adams and the rest—can ever get past the round of 16, a wall the program has now hit in five of its nine World Cup appearances since 1990. As the buzz of a home tournament fades, the USMNT's next real test begins the long climb toward 2030.

Freese's Disaster Error

Goalkeeper's Costly Hesitation Proves Decisive in USMNT's Belgium Defeat

Matt Freese entered the World Cup as a relative unknown at the position, having only claimed the USMNT's starting goalkeeper job the previous year. He'd largely justified that trust through the tournament, including a sharp early save on a long-range Timothy Castagne attempt Monday night. But one moment in the 57th minute undid much of that good work.

With the U.S. trailing 2-1, Freese ventured well outside his box to intercept a long ball forward, initially reading the situation well and cushioning it down with his chest. That first touch actually wrong-footed Charles De Ketelaere, buying Freese a window to clear the danger. Instead, he hesitated over the ball, allowing De Ketelaere to recover and poke it away toward Hans Vanaken, who curled a shot from distance past a stranded Tim Ream and into the net with Freese nowhere near his goal.

The sequence proved decisive, effectively ending any hope of a U.S. comeback and setting up Romelu Lukaku's stoppage-time goal that sealed the 4-1 defeat. Belgium manager Rudi Garcia credited his team's pressing with forcing the mistake, saying afterward that his side pushed Freese into the error by playing aggressively up front.

Freese was candid in the aftermath, acknowledging his misjudgment while praising his teammates' effort. Asked about the specific moment, he explained that he felt De Ketelaere so close that he thought he was going to kick his leg, so he tried to get out of the way.

He didn't shy away from how much the moment stung personally, calling it one of the most painful experiences of his career, but he also expressed belief that the setback represents part of a longer journey for a U.S. program he sees continuing to build toward bigger things.

Tillman Over The Wall Again

Midfielder's Free-Kick Magic Becomes a USMNT Trademark

For the second straight match, Malik Tillman delivered exactly when the United States needed him most. The 24-year-old midfielder's equalizer against Belgium in the 31st minute wasn't just a highlight; it confirmed he's become the USMNT's most reliable set-piece weapon at this World Cup.

The goal came after Folarin Balogun drew a foul just outside the box, setting up the free-kick chance. Tillman stepped up, and his effort deflected off Belgian defender Hans Vanaken before finding the net, sending Lumen Field into a brief frenzy before Belgium regained the lead minutes later.

It was Tillman's second free-kick goal of the tournament, following a similarly decisive strike in the round of 32 against Bosnia-Herzegovina. That back-to-back feat put him in rare company, becoming just the second player in World Cup history to score twice from free kicks in a single tournament, joining France's Bernard Genghini from 1982.

The goal also extended a milestone run for the Americans, who found the net in all five of their matches at this World Cup, the first time the program has done so across an entire tournament. Born and developed in Germany, Tillman came up through Bayern Munich's youth system before spells in Scotland and the Netherlands. He now plays for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, notching eight goals this past season in all competitions.

Tillman didn't score his first international goal until last summer, when he found the net three times during the Gold Cup. His World Cup heroics have since pushed his USMNT tally to five career goals, a modest number that belies the outsized impact he's had in the moments that have mattered most for this American side.

American Horror Story

Belgium Ends USMNT's World Cup Dream, Then Rubs It In

The United States' bid for a historic quarterfinal run collapsed Monday night in Seattle, as Belgium dismantled the Americans 4-1 in a round-of-16 clash at Lumen Field. The result extended a difficult pattern for U.S. Soccer: this marks the fourth time in the last five World Cups the program has been eliminated at this same stage.

Charles De Ketelaere was the night's chief architect, scoring twice and setting up a third goal as Belgium exposed defensive breakdowns that had lingered as a concern throughout the tournament. Malik Tillman's deflected free kick briefly leveled the score at 1-1 in the 31st minute, continuing his knack for set-piece scoring, but Belgium answered within minutes to seize control for good. Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku added second-half goals, the former compounding a costly error from goalkeeper Matt Freese.

The buildup to the match had already been consumed by controversy. Folarin Balogun's red card from the Bosnia-Herzegovina game was lifted by FIFA just a day before kickoff, a decision that stunned Belgium's federation—manager Rudi Garcia said he initially believed it was an "April Fools'" joke. Balogun played the full match against Belgium before being subbed off in the 90th minute, but didn't factor into the scoring.

Belgium made sure the moment wasn't forgotten. After the win, the team posted an image of Lukaku celebrating with the caption "Overturn this," a pointed jab at the eligibility reversal. Another post played on the "soccer" versus "football" divide, crossing out the American term entirely.

For a USMNT team that had captured the country's attention with a group-stage title and a milestone knockout-round win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, the abrupt exit left a promising run feeling unfinished, and Belgium, advancing to face Spain, made sure to have the last word.

American History in the Knockout Rounds

Two Knockout-Round Victories and Looking for a Third

USMNT knockout-round history spans nearly a century of near-misses, one golden run, and now a chance at revenge in Seattle.

The story begins with the deepest run in program history. At the inaugural 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, the U.S. reached the semifinals before falling 6-1 to Argentina at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo—a result that, combined with the group stage, still stands as the best finish in USMNT history. Four years later, the run ended quickly: at the 1934 World Cup in Italy, the U.S. lost 7-1 to Italy in the Round of 16, a single-elimination format that offered no cushion for the young American program.

Decades of absence from the tournament followed before the U.S. returned as hosts in 1994. The Americans advanced past the group stage for the first time since 1930, before losing to eventual champions Brazil 1-0 in the Round of 16 at Stanford Stadium on the Fourth of July.

The program's high-water mark in the modern era came in 2002. The United States beat CONCACAF rival Mexico 2-0 in Jeonju, with Brian McBride and Landon Donovan scoring, sending the Americans to the quarterfinals. There, the quarterfinal against Germany ended 1-0, though German midfielder Torsten Frings clearly handled a shot on the goal line in a moment the referee missed entirely—a result that remains the deepest run by an American men's team in the modern tournament era. 

2010 brought another gut-punch. Ghana won in extra time after Asamoah Gyan broke a 1-1 deadlock, following Kevin-Prince Boateng's early opener and a Landon Donovan penalty equalizer. Four years later came the Tim Howard heroics against Belgium, a 2-1 extra-time loss defined by a record-setting goalkeeping performance. In 2022, the U.S. fell to the Netherlands 3-1 in the Round of 16 in Qatar.

Now, in 2026, the USMNT returns to the same round against the same Belgian opponent—this time as co-hosts in Seattle—with a chance to finally push past a stage that has defined, and often frustrated, this program for nearly a century.

12 Years For Revenge

After Elimination from the 2014 World Cup, the Americans Have Been Waiting for this Monday Rematch

The last time the USMNT faced Belgium on this stage, it suffered one of the most memorable losses in American soccer history, and Monday's rematch in Seattle carries the weight of unfinished business that is twelve years in the making.

Back in the 2014 Round of 16 in Salvador, Brazil, a heavily favored Belgian side dominated the run of play but couldn't find a way past goalkeeper Tim Howard, who turned in a legendary performance under coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Howard made 16 saves, still a World Cup record, keeping the U.S. level through 90 scoreless minutes despite Belgium controlling the game almost entirely. The dam finally broke in extra time, when Kevin De Bruyne scored in the 93rd minute before Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead in the 105th. Teenager Julian Green, on for his World Cup debut, volleyed home a stunning goal off a Michael Bradley assist to cut the deficit, and the Americans nearly completed a miraculous comeback when Clint Dempsey saw a close-range effort denied by Thibaut Courtois. Belgium held on, 2-1, ending the run of a USMNT team that had shocked observers by escaping the "Group of Death" ahead of Portugal.

That defeat became legend more for Howard's heroics than the result itself. President Obama even joked about nominating him as Secretary of Defense. But it also cemented a lopsided head-to-head record, with Belgium winning six of the last seven meetings between the countries.

12 years later, De Bruyne and Lukaku remain on Belgium's roster, but both are past their prime years, no longer the same players who tortured Howard in Brazil. Meanwhile, this USMNT group enters as something closer to an equal. Most oddsmakers list the Americans as slight favorites rather than the significant underdogs they were in 2014. For a program still chasing its best World Cup finish since 2002, avenging that Salvador heartbreak, this time on home soil, in a rocking Seattle atmosphere, would mean settling an old score while opening a new chapter entirely.

Belgium Preview

The European Side Comes into the Match Higher Ranked and Victors Over the Americans in March

Belgium arrives in Seattle as a side built on continuity and star power at the top of an aging core, ranked ninth in the world under manager Rudi Garcia and looking to improve on a 2022 campaign that ended without advancing past the group stage.

The Red Devils punched their ticket to this World Cup by winning their UEFA qualifying group outright, and their path through the tournament has been steadier than dramatic—until it wasn't. After drawing both Egypt and Iran to open Group G, Belgium found their form with a 5-1 rout of New Zealand to top the group. The Round of 32 brought real drama: a 3-2 extra-time win over Senegal that required overcoming real late-match pressure to advance.

At the center of that comeback was captain Youri Tielemans, who equalized in the 89th minute before converting the winning penalty in extra time. The Aston Villa midfielder now has 15 goals in 89 international appearances. Kevin De Bruyne, still directing play at 34 for Napoli after his long Manchester City career, remains the engine of this team; how much space he's afforded against a U.S. midfield of Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie could decide the match. And lurking is Romelu Lukaku, Belgium's all-time leading scorer with 92 goals, now used as a super sub but no less dangerous. He's scored in each of his last two appearances, including sparking the comeback against Senegal.

This is a program with pedigree, a third-place finish in 2018 and 15 total World Cup appearances, but also one whose golden generation is entering its final chapters. For the USMNT's back line of Chris Richards, Tim Ream and Alex Freeman, containing Lukaku's introduction off the bench may prove just as important as anything that happens in the run of play beforehand.

Pochettino's Eventful Weekend

The USMNT Celebrated Before Hosting Belgium on Monday

Mauricio Pochettino has spent the days leading into Monday's Round of 16 clash with Belgium immersed in the same full-hearted embrace of American life that's defined his tenure, and he'll enter the match with his full squad at his disposal after all.

The Argentine coach capped a whirlwind stretch of cultural assimilation with a ceremonial first pitch before Friday's Blue Jays-Mariners game at T-Mobile Park, having taken batting tips from goalkeeper Matt Turner beforehand. It capped a run that's included everything from a newfound country music obsession to leading "U-S-A" chants to celebrating Independence Day by wishing American reporters a "happy birthday." Yet for all his affection for his adopted home, Pochettino was unequivocal about his identity: "I am 200% Argentine. … I am 200% Argentino, sorry. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to lie."

The relief of having Folarin Balogun available removes what looked like a genuine selection headache. The striker had been facing a one-match suspension after a controversial red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina—a call Pochettino himself dismissed as "a normal action that happened because by accident. … Never a red card." With Balogun back in the fold, Pochettino avoids having to choose between starting Ricardo Pepi or Haji Wright, or shifting Christian Pulisic into a more central attacking role.

Midfielder Tyler Adams had struck a confident tone about the group's ability to adjust regardless, saying the team has "been flexible" no matter who's asked to step up. Beyond the roster clarity, Pochettino continues framing the tournament in his signature terms—moonshots, belief, touching greatness—as the U.S. chases a first-ever multi-game knockout run at a home World Cup, with a quarterfinal date against Spain or Portugal awaiting the winner.

Balogun is Back

FIFA Suspends the Suspension, Allowing the Forward to Play on Monday

In a stunning turn on the eve of the USMNT's Round of 16 clash with Belgium, FIFA announced Sunday that Folarin Balogun's one-game suspension has been shelved, clearing the striker to play in Seattle.

The decision leans on the same disciplinary mechanism FIFA used to keep Cristiano Ronaldo available earlier in the tournament. Under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the governing body may suspend the implementation of a sanction and instead subject the player to a probationary period—in Balogun's case, one year. FIFA specified that "the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one [1] year."

U.S. Soccer confirmed its acceptance of the ruling in a statement, saying it was "pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow" and that the program's focus had shifted fully to Monday's match. President Donald Trump also weighed in, calling the reversal "a great injustice" being corrected.

The turnaround is notable given how firmly the suspension appeared to be locked in just days earlier—U.S. Soccer had confirmed as recently as Friday that the one-game ban would stand, with red cards carrying no formal right of appeal under tournament rules.

Balogun's red card came in the 64th minute of the U.S.'s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, after he scraped his boot down the ankle of defender Tarik Muharemovic while the two battled for the ball—a decision replay showed only after a VAR review reversed the referee's initial no-call. Balogun had scored the U.S.'s opening goal in that same match. Speaking Friday, before the reversal, he defended his positioning in the challenge: "If you played the game, you would understand there's scenarios that you simply can't avoid, and it has to be taken into context when it's being reviewed."

With Balogun back in the fold, the USMNT will look to advance to its first World Cup quarterfinal since 2002 when it faces Belgium Monday at 8 p.m. ET in Seattle.