Mercedes-Benz Stadium (ATLANTA) — The United States men’s national team impressed early against Belgium. Then the wheels fell off.
A first-half lead in Saturday’s high-profile World Cup warmup match against Belgium — FIFA’s No. 9 ranked squad — melted away as the USA conceded four straight goals in front of a heavily pro-USA crowd of 66,867 fans at the home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United.
Weston McKennie put coach Mauricio Pochettino’s team ahead in the 39th minute by deftly redirecting an Antonee “Jedi” Robinson corner kick past Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens. The visitors equalized before the first half was over, though, when fullback Zeno Debast’s low rocket flew through a sea of bodies, past the outstretched hand of USA keeper Matt Turner and into the bottom corner of the net.
Belgium got another shortly after the break, then scored three more as they ran away with the second-to-last match before Pochettino must select his final 26-player World Cup roster, though the Americans did pull one back late via second half substitute Patrick Agyemang.
“Of course, [losing] 5-2 is always difficult to accept,” Pochettino said afterward. “It’s painful. But at the same time, I think we need to take so many positive things.”
Here are my takeaways:
1. USA Faltered In the Second Half
Pochettino’s side entered the match on a three-match winning streak, all against World Cup-bound foes. But Belgium is better than any of those teams by some distance. And still the USA matched them almost evenly in the first half, even if the guests had almost 60 percent of possession and one more shot on target. Only a brilliant (and lucky) save by Senne Lammens on McKennie’s earlier shot in the opening stanza kept the game scoreless almost until the intermission.
With former Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and current Man City star forward Jeremy Doku leading coach Rudi Garcia’s attack, Belgium tested a USA backline missing injured center back Chris Richards repeatedly, mostly to no avail.
Central midfielders Tanner Tessmann and Johnny Cardoso covered when fullbacks Robinson and Tim Weah bombed forward, repeatedly frustrating the Red Devils. Tim Ream and Mark McKenzie held firm, while Turner made a series of acrobatic saves in his first start since losing the No. 1 job to Matt Freese last June.
“The first half was really good,” Pochettino added. “We played better than Belgium.” Yet they led the contest for just six of the 90 minutes.
“We created a lot of opportunities,” an admittedly “frustrated” Weah told reporters in a quiet post-game moment. “When you don’t put those opportunities away, and the other team has their opportunities, and they put them away, the game can change.”
The winning streak is over. A 5-2 loss is disappointing, at best. But based on the performance, the lopsided scoreline was probably a little bit harsh on the home squad.
“This team,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said of the USA, “is better than the result tonight.”
It was also a crucial, timely reminder that there are no moral victories at the highest level. It’s better to learn that lesson in March than in June. “I prefer another result,” said Pochettino. “But if it needs to happen now, it’s better because we know what we are going to face in the next in the next game, or in the next games.”
2. Silver Linings? ‘Jedi’ and Matt Turner Stood Out
Turner played every minute of the USA’s four matches at the 2022 World Cup. Antonee “Jedi” Robinson was on the field for all but the final moments of the round of loss to the Netherlands in Qatar. But both veterans had been out of Pochettino’s lineup for most of the Argentine’s tenure — Robinson because of injury, Turner because of the emergence of Freese. But both returned to Poch’s starting lineup on Saturday.
And while Jedi’s return — U.S. Soccer’s male player of the year in 2024 didn’t make a single appearance last year because of knee issues — was expected, Turner’s was the biggest surprise before the match against the Red Devils kicked off.
Jedi looked as good as ever, just as he has done with Fulham in the Premier League. And Turner justified Pochettino’s decision by making a series of fine stops during an overall confident display, even if his poor clearance led to a goal that was only ruled out because it inadvertently deflected in off forward Charles De Ketelaere’s arm. Turner’s best save of all might have been on the play that led to De Bruyne’s successful penalty, with Turner tipping the ball over his crossbar after it hit Ream’s hand and changed trajectory.
“That, for me, wasn’t penalty,” Pochettino said, adding of Turner: “It’s good to see him to perform after a long period.”
A visibly dejected Turner felt the hosts let the call – and the two-goal deficit – crush their resistence. “Even though it’s 3-1, there’s still all to play for,” he said. “We’ve got to stick together, and that’s something that we can definitely take away from this game as a learning.”
3. Pochettino Went With Best Available Players
Richards wasn’t the only projected World Cup starter missing on Saturday. Tyler Adams, who captained the Americans at the last World Cup in Qatar, is injured. So is right back/winger Sergiño Dest. Yet Poch still got his best available players on the field, deploying Weah as an outside defender even with natural right back Joe Scally available. (Scally came on late in the second half.)
At his core, Poch is a pragmatist. His lineup choices on Saturday confirmed as much — and provided a preview of what USA fans can expect in terms of personnel decisions when their World Cup campaign begins in earnest on June 12 versus Paraguay in Los Angeles. Who fills those spots is another matter. With just three more tuneup games to go before then, there are still plenty of lineup questions remaining.
“The players that were on the bench, they were supporting the starting 11 in an amazing way,” Pochettino said. “They are going to have the possibility to play in the next game.”
4. Another Big Test Awaits
Belgium is good. Very good. Reigning UEFA Nations League champions Portugal — FIFA’s sixth ranked side and the team that the USA will close out the March window in Tuesday’s match in Atlanta — is even better. That’s a scary thought. Yet it’s also an opportunity to right Saturday’s wrongs almost immediately and end this month on a decidedly brighter note.
“I want to win, first and foremost,” Turner said of next Tuesday’s tilt. “I want the fans to leave this stadium looking at our team and saying that that’s a team I can identify with…I think we all felt like we should have and could have done better today.”
4 ½. What’s Next?
Time to regroup for that Tuesday game against Portugal, who took on Mexico on Saturday night at the re-opening of the famed Estadio Azteca.
The Portuguese are without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo during this swing through North America, but there is still tons of quality star power, like Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes and PSG dynamic duo Nuno Mendes and Vitinha. The USA will have its hands full, no doubt. The mission is still clear.
“We need,” Weah said, “to bounce back.”
