US-Belgium: this is crunch time for the Poch…
by PMan 
, The Banks of the Spokane River, Monday, July 06, 2026, 18:03 (15 days ago)
experiment. The US play in this Cup has been good, until that half. Winning the group, getting to the Round of 16. Fine.
But a quarterfinal was the measure of “success.” Now or never.
Pochettino does not deserve a contract for 2030.
by PMan , The Banks of the Spokane River, Monday, July 06, 2026, 19:01 (15 days ago) @ PMan
He did not take the team much beyond Berhalter. Not a “success.”
Terrible time to play poorly.
Need a coach who understands CONCACAF.
I can't blame him.
We just don't have the talent to compete with better European teams. I can't blame him for the mistakes by Ream and Freese. We just aren't good enough.
Mental mistakes and the tactics are on him.
by PMan , The Banks of the Spokane River, Monday, July 06, 2026, 19:14 (15 days ago) @ Bryan (IrishCavan)
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He had less than two years
A system that presents you with Ream and Freese/Turner as your defensive anchors needs an overhaul.
Ream was a choice.
by PMan , The Banks of the Spokane River, Monday, July 06, 2026, 21:40 (15 days ago) @ Dylan
He and Poch hit it off. But all those minutes could have gone to someone(s) younger over the last 2 years.
The GK drop off has been odd.
That was the one position we excelled in. Now we have average MLS guys.
We stopped getting kids raised playing catch…
by bk , Close enough, Monday, July 06, 2026, 19:52 (15 days ago) @ Bryan (IrishCavan)
And now get kids raised playing soccer.
win or lose - just play a good game ..... darn.
by TSchlidt , St. Louis, Monday, July 06, 2026, 18:47 (15 days ago) @ PMan
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So many mistakes.
I don't even know where to start. That first half was awful. Ream was atrocious, as were a number of guys, including Dest, Robinson, Pulisic, etc. We started to play better the 2nd half and then the boneheaded play by Freese.
Passing has been just awful
by Jack , Monday, July 06, 2026, 18:35 (15 days ago) @ Bryan (IrishCavan)
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Sad to lose and play terrible.
by PMan , The Banks of the Spokane River, Monday, July 06, 2026, 18:35 (15 days ago) @ Bryan (IrishCavan)
Pulisic was a big zero. Dest was awful. Ream horrible.
The Balogun reversal didn’t help us…
by bk , Close enough, Monday, July 06, 2026, 18:14 (15 days ago) @ PMan
We would unquestionably be at our best with him, but if he was always going to play in this game.
We spent a few days planning and settling in with resolve for the more difficult task in front of us without one of our best two players. Adversity can lead to focus and mutual effort. Belgium, on the other hand, was planning for a lighter opponent. Not taking us lightly, but in the back of their minds, there had to be some ease.
But then Balogun’s suspension is lifted. Now the US feels relief and Belgium has focus. We also feel the weight of a controversial decision and the need to justify the unprecedented treatment.
The first half, we looked tight and Belgium looked like they had nothing to lose.
Belgium missed their golden generation window
According to European analysts who said the same thing about Italy, Croatia, and every other team of 30+ legends who made a run in the WC.
We were never going to win this game without near perfect execution.
End pay to play!
Our near perfect execution was against Paraguay
by Jack , Monday, July 06, 2026, 18:52 (15 days ago) @ cdawg
Lulled us into a false sense of security.
So weird… everything else Trump has done has been a smashing
success.
He still has his FIFA Peace Prize
by Jeff (BGS) , A starter home in suburban Tempe, Monday, July 06, 2026, 19:33 (15 days ago) @ atxND
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At night, the ice weasels come.