Additional Coverage:
- USA goalkeeper makes humiliating blunder and Christian Pulisic injured in nightmare USA twist (themirror.com)
A brief five-minute stretch in the second half turned disastrous for the U.S. Men’s National Team on Monday, as a costly goalkeeping mishap and an injury to Christian Pulisic left the Americans trailing Belgium 3-1 in their World Cup Round of 16 match in Seattle.
The problems began in the 57th minute when U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese ventured off his line to collect the ball but awkwardly chested it, only to have his foot get caught in the turf as Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere closed in. Freese lost control, leaving the net wide open.
Hans Vanaken capitalized on the error, slotting the ball from about 30 yards out while defender Tim Ream was unable to clear it in time. The mistake sparked a visibly frustrated reaction from head coach Mauricio Pochettino on the sidelines.
This third goal for Belgium came after two earlier strikes by De Ketelaere, which sandwich a deflected free kick from Malik Tillman that briefly leveled the game in the first half.
Freese, who plays for New York City FC in MLS, had made a solid save earlier but this second-half blunder intensified concerns about the U.S. goalkeeping situation heading into the tournament. Notably, this was the first World Cup where the U.S. started a goalkeeper based domestically in MLS.
Adding to the U.S. woes, Christian Pulisic was forced off with an apparent injury during the second half. The forward had endured a physical match, including a collision around the 52nd minute when his foot caught the back of Belgium’s Youri Tielemans, leaving him momentarily down near the penalty area.
No foul was called, and at the time, no serious injury was evident. However, Pulisic was later substituted, appearing visibly upset on the bench.
Statistically, Pulisic struggled throughout the night, losing possession 11 times in the first half alone-the highest on the field-as the U.S. found it difficult to gain a foothold against a sharper Belgian team.
The Americans had started the second half with some promise. Coach Pochettino made an early tactical change, bringing on Gio Reyna for Sergiño Dest at halftime to improve ball control. This adjustment briefly paid off as the U.S. maintained possession for extended periods-until Freese’s error shattered their momentum.
A victory would have propelled the U.S. into a quarterfinal showdown with Spain, a stage the team has not reached since 2002. Instead, their World Cup journey concluded with a 4-1 loss to Belgium.