Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) — Walking the streets of Georgia’s stately capital on Saturday, shortly before the United States men’s national team’s World Cup warm-up against Belgium, the excitement among the home team’s fans was palpable.
Under a cloudless sky, supporters of all ages wore those swanky new USA jerseys and ear-to-ear smiles. Inside “The Benz,” a packed house of nearly 67,000 danced in the stands and mugged for the Jumbotron just before kickoff.
USA fans were hopeful for a solid showing by Mauricio Pochettino’s squad in Atlanta. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Some 85 minutes later, though, the mood among the faithful that had packed the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS side Atlanta United had shifted completely. Down four goals to FIFA’s ninth-ranked team, entire sections of seats emptied as thousands of those same fans headed to the exits in droves before Patrick Agyemang pulled back a late consolation tally for Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
The USA came out looking sharp but ultimately wilted against Belgium. (Getty)
“We have another opportunity against a strong team on Tuesday,” U.S. headliner Christian Pulisic told FOX Sports and other outlets following Saturday’s debacle. “We want to get a good result and feel good going into the World Cup.”
“We’ll go back over video, and we’ll see what we lacked, or where we could have done better, and then prepare,” said star midfielder Weston McKennie, scorer of the Americans’ first goal.
“We have an important game against Portugal,” added winger-turned-fullback Tim Weah. “We just have to get back into training and work on some stuff. We have to bounce back.”
It doesn’t matter that all involved agreed that the result was closer than that scoreline would indicate. The hosts took the lead against Belgium and nearly went into the locker room at halftime up by one, only to concede a preventable equalizer mere seconds before the break.
The visitors then bagged two more before the contest reached the 60-minute mark, including a penalty that Pochettino insisted shouldn’t have been awarded. At that point, though, the outcome was probably inevitable.
Against the Portuguese, the U.S. must keep the score close.
It’s a realistic aim. Roberto Martinez’s side, which defeated Spain to win the UEFA Nations League title last summer, were held without a goal in Mexico City later on Saturday at the re-opening of the mythical Estadio Azteca. Ultimately, Portugal settled for a scoreless tie with fellow World Cup co-hosts El Tri despite possessing the ball for a whopping 67 percent of the match.
Portugal, even without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, figures to be a lot better in Atlanta. The U.S. will have their hands full with the likes of Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and PSG’s Nuno Mendes. To have any chance of avoiding another embarrassment, they’ll need to play a much more complete match.
Bruno Fernandes and Portugal will give the USA a big test on Tuesday in Atlanta. (Photo by Agustin Cuevas/Getty Images)
