USMNT World Cup player ratings: Christian Pulisic fails to lead by example as Matt Freese’s No. 1 status questioned
The American Dream has been left unfulfilled.
Belgium have stunned the United States Men’s National Team to book their place in the 2026 World Cup quarter finals with a 4-1 victory in Seattle.
Not even Folarin Balogun, who was named in the starting line-up after his ban for a red card was suspended for a year, could muster up anything of substance in front of goal to help his team.
Put simply, the USMNT didn’t turn up for the occasion, and now all three co-hosts of the summer tournament have been eliminated.
It was a disastrous defensive display from the jump for the Stars and Stripes, with Belgian striker Charles De Ketelaere in the opening 10 minutes of the contest and adding a second just a minute after Malik Tillman’s equalizer.
Further goals followed in the second half, as the US came up short in the Round of 16 again.
talkSPORT’s USMNT correspondent Ben Jacobs was in Seattle for the end of the American dream, and casts his verdict on the stars who failed to deliver on the biggest stage of all.
Christian Pulisic heads under-performing stars
“I thought Christian Pulisic was poor throughout the game, he got one really heavy knock so maybe his movement was impacted by that.
“He went off with a twisted ankle but he didn’t lead by example.
“Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun had their moments but didn’t really get a grip of the rhythm of the game.
“Nor could each of them find either a final pass or a finish. Balogun had that one shot which Courtois saved and just before halftime was in a couple of times.
“Just how much of the saga of Balogun and his suspended ban had. Trump speaking and Pochettino having to ask questions on it and FIFA being attacked.
“It’s near impossible for the players to ignore that so my sense is that that was not particularly helpful incident.”
Defensive problems catch up and goalkeeper questioned
“Tim Ream and Matt Freese were both culpable as well – ultimately defensive frailties started creeping in.
“A Goalkeeper is still I think to be determined in the long run. Freeze didn’t do enough across the tournament to definitively say he’s ahead of Matt Turner.
“Turner will feel he can force his way back in and one wonders who the next generation of goalkeepers are coming through because it looks like there’s some room for improvement in that area.
“Naturally, they’ll have to think about the long-term solution for Tim Ream because he’s not going to be around forever and that will include t picking a captain.”
“If you are Mauricio Pochettino, he’ll be fuming by all of the goals because they concede early, they equalize, they immediately concede again and then of course the third goal is the killer before Lukaku scores in added time
What next for Pochettino?
“Much like in March there was a gulf in talents between the teams and the US men’s national team failed to start fast and failed to put in a complete performance over 90 minutes.
“Poch’s contract is up and the expectation is that he will go because he’s kind of been meeting with and flirting with club jobs including Milan.
“But that’s now gone to Ruben Amorim and that was only two three weeks before the tournament.
“My feeling is that if Thomas Tuchel left England, but it’s not looking likely now because they did amazing against Mexico but that would be a job that he would quite like, so don’t rule out him.
“Seeking job opportunities in international as well as domestic football and Pochettino still has a place in London, he loves it there and he’s got unfinished business with the Premier League.
“There’s a four-year contract on the table and he could do World Cup qualifying and it would be assumed he would lead the team at LA [Olympics] as well.
“So that’s high profile, it’s well funded, it’s well paid. So, let’s see whether he decides this project is something he wants to double down on or if as expected before the tournament he just leaves and then the US Men’s National Team will be looking for another manager.
Tillman the star man as Balogun waits for $50m move
“Malik Tillman again a deflected free kick. He was probably the best player in a bad performance and was the standout performer for me across the entire tournament.
“So much was made of Pulisic or Balogun or even Adams or Richards, but Tillman really stepped up and for much of the Tournament he was excellent as a partner to Tyler Adams.
“My unsung hero Chris Richards, especially when you consider that he often has to cover for Tim Ream and cover a lot of ground and I think he handled himself on the field and off the field excellently.
“My star to watch is Balogun – he is going to leave Monaco and there are Premier League clubs that are interested and he comes out of this World Cup more in demand and with more hype around him and obviously nothing will be affected by the whole Trump and suspended red card.
“I think most of us sympathize with Balogun and all of that because The player didn’t want to make headlines and who knows how much of a distraction that might have been. “
“The talent is there but I think this golden generation will feel they didn’t show up against Belgium and in the end they were well beaten.”
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