SEATTLE STADIUM — Christian Pulisic buried his head in his hands. Malik Tillman sat motionless on the turf. Tim Weah pulled him to his feet, but Tillman dropped back down. Nearby, Tim Ream — who rarely lets his emotions show — wiped away tears, while Mark McKenzie and Sebastian Berhalter wrapped an arm around him in consolation.
The U.S. men’s national team’s 2026 World Cup is over after an uninspired, embarrassing and confounding 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday night. What started out as a hopeful and magical run ended the same as it always does — with an early exit.
“It stings,” a visibly frustrated Tyler Adams told reporters after the game. “I don’t like to be eliminated from anything. Tonight was not a good performance at all.”
Tyler Adams reacts after conceding a goal during the second half in the USA’s World Cup loss to Belgium. (Photo by John Todd/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images).
No, it was not. The USA approached its previous four matches of the tournament with aggression and confidence, pressing high and playing on the front foot. On Monday, the Americans looked nothing like that team. They conceded soft goals, lacked the grit and resilience that had defined their campaign, and made far too many mistakes. When the final whistle blew, nobody sang, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
“I wish I had the answers right now,” Adams said, sounding deflated. “I don’t know, I don’t know. It was the small things. Second ball is not falling when you feel like before, you were in the right spots and you were winning them. Just little gaps that were being exploited, small connections in the game where in other games, it just felt like everything was a little bit cleaner, sharper.
“This was the moment to have the opportunity to advance and really try and do something special,” Adams added. “And we fell short.”
Fans watch the 2026 World Cup round of 16 match between USA and Belgium at the FIFA Fan Zone on the National Mall in Washington. (Photo by Mehmet Eser/Anadolu via Getty Images)
