SEATTLE – This is where onlookers expected the U.S. men’s national team to be.
This is why Mauricio Pochettino was hired. Monday’s matchup with Belgium in the World Cup’s Round of 16 could be a pivotal game for the future of the sport in the United States, and it’s a matchup we’ve seen before. We’ve seen it on this same stage twelve years ago, and again in March. The U.S. fell 5-2 in that recent friendly, though the team put in a decent performance skewed by second half substitutions.
According to captain Tim Ream, Monday will not look the same.
“We’re two very different teams now than we were in March, and we’re both trying to move on in the biggest tournament in sports history,” the veteran center back noted on Saturday prior to training at the University of Washington. “So, obviously, there are things you can learn, there are things you can look back on, there are things that you can look at as positives, and things that can be better. But for us it’s not really thinking about the result. We’re in a new environment, this is a completely different game than in March.”
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The lineups certainly will be different. Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Sergiño Dest, and Alex Freeman didn’t start in March but are set to on Monday, while Folarin Balogun – who did start up top in that loss to the Red Devils – is suspended. While Balogun is a major loss, those five names, as well as Malik Tillman’s form, totally transform what’s possible for the United States. Matt Turner also started instead of Matt Freese in March, and it’s worth noting that the Belgium lineup should also have at least a few changes.
This time around, the circumstances seemingly favor the USMNT. The team is riding unprecedented momentum into their second World Cup match in a stadium renowned for its home-field advantage. The U.S. is a younger team than Belgium, who were taxed by 120 minutes against Senegal in the Round of 32 with stars like Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in the twilight of their careers. Belgium also failed to impress in group stage play, only topping a weak Group G on goal difference.
