On Monday night, frustration swiftly morphed into anger among U.S. supporters as they directed their ire at the players, criticizing their ‘pathetic’ performance that led to a World Cup exit against Belgium.
In a sold-out stadium in Seattle, the struggling American team gave up four goals, marking an underwhelming conclusion to their campaign and falling short of the expectations set for their Round of 16 match.
As soon as the game concluded, fans swiftly took to social media to voice their displeasure with the team’s lackluster showing. One fan wrote: ‘Embarrassing result. The optimist in me hopes there are enough positives from this World Cup to boost the sport here in the U.S. Nevertheless, this was a terrible way to bow out.’
Another fan commented: ‘It’s as if the team never left their bus tonight. Out of 11 players, maybe three showed glimpses of readiness for the occasion. Overall, a pathetic effort.’
Predictably, Barstool Sports chief Dave Portnoy inserted himself into the conversation, expressing his discontent through a flurry of posts on X.
‘I don’t want to hear that the future is bright for American soccer,’ he wrote in one. ‘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
‘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.
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.’