It was a difficult night for the United States men's national team, bowing out of the 2026 World Cup in the round of 16. While the expanded tournament allowed the U.S. to pick up a first knockout win since 2002, it goes out of this tournament in the same round it was eliminated in during the 2022 competition.
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino had hoped to become the first manager to lead the U.S. to a quarterfinal since Bruce Arena did it in 2002 but instead oversaw a 4-1 defeat with Belgium comfortably sending the Stars and Stripes out of the tournament they were hosting.
There were still some bright spots Monday, but there also were some players whose stock took a hit. Here are the winners and losers from the elimination game:
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino had hoped to become the first manager to lead the U.S. to a quarterfinal since Bruce Arena did it in 2002 but instead oversaw a 4-1 defeat with Belgium comfortably sending the Stars and Stripes out of the tournament they were hosting.
There were still some bright spots Monday, but there also were some players whose stock took a hit. Here are the winners and losers from the elimination game:
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