On Monday, July 6, 2026, the U.S. Men’s National Team’s hopes of advancing to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 were dashed. The U.S. lost in a 4-1 route to Belgium, surrendering the most goals of all teams in the World Cup round of 16.
Andrés Martinez, Co-Director of ASU’s Great Game Lab, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the loss and a red card controversy.
“It was a crushing disappointment for many of us who had really gotten our hopes up,” Martinez said. “Going into the tournament expectations were not particularly high for this team despite the fact that they are the golden generation.”
Though the USAMT was hot going into the game against Belgium, which was one of the powerhouses of the tournament, there was still a lot of speculation on how far the U.S would make it.
Leading up to the match, FIFA’s decision to lift the suspension of USMNT star player Folarin Balogun dominated discourse. Balogun faced a mandatory ban from Monday’s match after receiving a red card in the previous game against Bosnia. FIFA permitted him to play on Sunday following a call President Donald Trump made to the global soccer organization’s president, Gianni Infantino.
The controversy not only caused a stir, but Martinez said he believes all of the coverage and heat the team got messed with their momentum, and the team went from a global favorite to the enemy overnight because of the idea they benefited from political interference.
Though there was a lot of controversy and disappointment at the end of the line for USA, Martinez does not think this is a setback for the growth of soccer in the U.S. but a missed opportunity.
“We had an opportunity, I think, in this tournament to go to quarter finals, a semifinals and make history,” Martinez said. “The momentum of soccer in the U.S. and our global engagement in the world’s most popular sport, it’s irreversible. I think it is going to continue, but this could have accelerated it.”
With the teams elimination from the tournament, this young core now has 4 years to forget about its disappointment and make a run for the 2030 World Cup.
