It all started with the usual razzmatazz that has come to be seen at United States' World Cup games - a boisterous and patriotic fanbase, fireworks and smoke flares and a military fly over.
But the American dream of winning the tournament for the first time fizzled out in shambolic fashion in the early hours of Tuesday morning with a hugely disappointing defeat by Belgium.
The US lost 4-1 - their heaviest defeat since 1990 - while the lively atmosphere that had been a feature of their previous games fell flat long before the final whistle, with Belgium's fourth goal prompting a stream of fans to leave the Seattle Stadium.
This exit at the last-16 stage for the tournament co-hosts came at the end of a whirlwind couple of days, where headlines had been dominated by Fifa's controversial decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's red card from the previous game, allowing him to start this encounter.
Their run to this stage had appeared to captured the attention of the nation but all that positivity appeared to take a hit by the Balogun saga, something not lost on the Belgians before the game.
But the American dream of winning the tournament for the first time fizzled out in shambolic fashion in the early hours of Tuesday morning with a hugely disappointing defeat by Belgium.
The US lost 4-1 - their heaviest defeat since 1990 - while the lively atmosphere that had been a feature of their previous games fell flat long before the final whistle, with Belgium's fourth goal prompting a stream of fans to leave the Seattle Stadium.
This exit at the last-16 stage for the tournament co-hosts came at the end of a whirlwind couple of days, where headlines had been dominated by Fifa's controversial decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's red card from the previous game, allowing him to start this encounter.
Their run to this stage had appeared to captured the attention of the nation but all that positivity appeared to take a hit by the Balogun saga, something not lost on the Belgians before the game.
4 months ago
