Belgium knocks USMNT out of the World Cup as Matt Freese and defense struggle | OneFootball

The United States men's national team survived a tough test in the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. So, on Monday, they had their biggest test yet: the Round of 16 clash with Belgium. So much controversy led up to the match, from Folarin Balogun's red card via VAR in the last match to his suspension being temporarily lifted, allowing him to play based on some rule, Article 27, that allowed him to play.

This created a lot of attention in the lead-up to the game, for it was confirmed that the current presidential administration was highly involved in changing the outcome of the red card. Many national teams, including Belgium, were upset by this. Nevertheless, New York City FC's Matt Freese and the rest of the USMNT had to find a way to forget the controversy and focus on the match at hand.

Nobody will ever know what led to the worst performance of the World Cup, but the USMNT failed to even provide a chance of moving on, losing 4-1 to Belgium. It could have been the controversy or just a bad night.

The USMNT is out of the World Cup

The game started very quickly for Freese, who had to make a save in the first minute of play. Timothy Castagne's shot from outside the box forced the goalkeeper to reach out to his right and force a corner kick. Then, the corner kick was taken, and he was forced to make another save right after due to a header from Charles De Ketelaere.

It was clear that Belgium was going to be problematic, and sadly, they scored first. In the ninth minute, the USMNT's backline fell asleep, allowing a perfect pass across the goal. De Ketelaere was in the right place at the right time, tapping the ball into the goal. There was nothing Freese could do, for his backline was supposed to defend in that instance.

The Stars and Stripes did pull one back, though, in the 31st minute. As he did in the last match, Malik Tillman once again stepped up to take a free kick. This time, he was more centered from outside the box. But with ease, he put the ball over the wall, slightly deflecting on the way, to score the first and only goal of the night for the US.

But the team did not play as they had throughout the World Cup. The attack was not the greatest, and to the biggest surprise, the backline was playing like the second-choice backline. So, Belgium went ahead again just a few minutes later. The Red Devils again had a perfect cross, and De Ketelaere was again in the right spot. However, Tim Ream failed to properly mark him, and the forward jumped over to head the ball into the goal.

Once again, there was nothing Freese could do. NYCFC fans know that he has faced this problem all season with the Pigeons, and this has happened with the US during games with the second-string players.

The Stars and Stripes needed to be better in the second half, and former NYCFC academy player, Gio Reyna, came on for Sergiño Dest to start the second half.

At first, it looked like the switch was working. The USMNT was maintaining more possession and getting into the final third. But sometimes, things do not work out. The US still struggled to get legitimate shots on target and lacked that clinical finish that they had in the other matches.

Moreover, everyone on the pitch was still not playing at the level that they had throughout the World Cup. Tillman might have been the exception, but even big-name stars like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie were disappointing to watch. It did not help that Pulisic suffered a possible injury, too.

And then, NYCFC's Freese made the worst possible mistake in the 57th minute. He came off his line, and this allowed Belgium to get the ball with him out of the box. Hans Vanaken took his shot, and Ream could not stop the ball from rolling into the back of the net. This mistake basically set the USMNT's fate in stone.

Plus, he allowed a fourth goal in stoppage time from Romelu Lukaku. Freese should have made the stop, but he failed to do so. This goal was ultimately on him. Although, the Red Devils would not have scored a fourth without Chris Richards giving up the ball.

Still, the second half was stronger, but it was not enough. And once again, with the exception of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the US failed to beat a European team.

In the end, this was a poor performance. This was not good enough. The Stars and Stripes should have put up more of a fight, and the defense should have been better. Truthfully, did the controversy with Balogun and the red card impact the mental state of the USMNT? Or was it just an off day? No matter the reason, the loss stings. That is it.

From the NYCFC perspective, Freese now joins his Australian teammates in returning home to the Big Apple. There are no more Pigeons remaining at the World Cup.