Why World Cup exit showed the limits to the USA’s power – on and off the pitch | OneFootball

As football was the winner, Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump were the losers. American exceptionalism took on a new turn as the United States were exceptionally bad against Belgium; some 48 hours after the USA’s birthday came the death of Mauricio Pochettino’s dream. Football is supposed to unite the world – a cliché parroted by the pundits on Fox’s jingoistic coverage in the US, who neglect to mention who is dividing it – and so it did: in cheering for Belgium.

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The United States were knocked out of the World Cup by Belgium (Getty)

The United States team’s World Cup, which had been encouraging and endearing, ended tarnished and tainted. The use of the bully pulpit to get Folarin Balogun’s suspension suspended – aided by the predictably craven sycophancy of Fifa – had no impact as Belgium careered to a 4-1 win. “Overturn this,” their FA said, in a particularly pointed social-media post.

Pochettino and his side were undermined by defensive errors, but also by the evidence it was impossible to separate sport and politics; not in these troubled times. The Trump administration have long given the impression the rules don’t apply to them; but then a convicted felon has given pardons to those with far greater misdemeanours than Balogun. Yet there can be limits to American power. Arrogance off the field was followed by impotence on it. Forget Sleepless in Seattle, they were hopeless in Seattle.

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Arrogant off the pitch, impotent on it – the USA exited the World Cup at the round of 16 (Reuters)

“Why not us?” Pochettino had asked, in a slogan that allowed America to aim high. An answer was supplied: because even against a Belgian team wondering what comes after a golden generation, they were not good enough. The opening 4-1 demolition of Paraguay had given the look of a Pochettino team, with pace, pressing and slick movement. In Balogun, Malik Tillman and Alex Freeman, the US had individuals who impressed. But in the final reckoning, the only three sides they beat are currently ranked 28th, 34th and 61st in the world.

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Folarin Balogun impressed for the USA before becoming unfortunately embroiled in a political storm (Reuters)

Even with home advantage – and some other advantages that left Fifa flailing in their attempts to explain it – they only actually progressed as far as they had in 2022, under the less heralded Gregg Berhalter, or 2010 and 2014. Pochettino’s group appeared better; but perhaps that came from a kind draw that, given the other favours granted to the USA, may strike some as suspicious.

The USA still have not reached a quarter-final since 2002; even accounting for football’s place in the pecking order, that can start to seem like underachievement. One of the explanations is among the simplest: the players are not quite good enough. In Seattle, Pochettino bemoaned a lack of quality and if he was talking about on the night, rather than in general, when Belgium beat the US 5-2 in March, he suggested America did not have any of the world’s top 100 players. A second defeat to Belgium supported that. Matt Freese’s awful blunder for Hans Vanaken’s goal underlined that the country of Tim Howard, Brad Friedel and Kasey Keller no longer has an elite goalkeeper. Mistakes by Tim Ream and Chris Richards showed shortcomings at centre-back, too.

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USA goalkeeper Matt Freese’s error helped Belgium to victory in Seattle (Reuters)

Nevertheless, the early stages of the World Cup had made it look like the US was a rising force. And yet the American obsession with Christian Pulisic, who has had a very profitable World Cup – in terms of commercial deals, anyway – seems predicated on the sense he is a superstar. The winger excelled against Paraguay and was unfortunate to come off injured. But in the Belgium game, he did next to nothing. Pulisic is good enough to have played for Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and now AC Milan but looked overhyped by his compatriots.

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Christian Pulisic was heavily hyped but did not deliver when it counted (Getty)

Pochettino himself may not have proved the gamechanger imagined: he made the US better, but did not take them further. He has been offered a new deal until 2030 but opted not to reveal his plans. If a foreign World Cup would be harder, he should also be aware he would be tied to an objectionable regime. When Trump rang Pochettino before the tournament, his captain, Ream, looked decidedly awkward. The Argentinian ought to run a mile, and not merely because it has felt his long-term plan was always to return to the European club game.

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Mauricio Pochettino could now return to the European club game (AP)

Which could leave the US in a familiar position: waiting for the breakthrough on a global stage. And yet, after a tournament when a likeable team seemed to be generating goodwill, in a perhaps worse one. For some of the last month, football had overshadowed the unpleasantness of Trumpism, immoral as the treatment of the Iran team, or the Somali referee Omar Artan were. Enter the one-man wrecking ball, with his unique capacity to destroy everything he touches.

Feelings shifted. Outside the US, there was a sudden surge in support for Belgium. Inside it? It is hard to tell. The American narrative tends to be that they are the good guys; do much of the public know or care that, thanks to Trumpian malevolence, they became seen as the villains of the piece? They would get precious little indication from the host broadcaster. Fox failed, too: neglecting to mention the widespread outrage in much of the rest of the planet at the favouritism afforded to one of the co-hosts.

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(Reuters)

It was Jurgen Klopp, with his capacity to come up with a phrase and speak for many, who voiced the views of those outraged by Infantino and Trump. “This is our game, not theirs,” said the next Germany manager. With a characteristic lack of integrity, wretched autocrats have tried to hijack the World Cup for their purposes. That wasn’t the fault of Pochettino or the USA team. And yet Belgium’s emphatic victory still sent a message from football’s old world to the new: it remains our game, not theirs.