US team gets a dressing down from Belgium

Belgium gave a dressing down to a US team with big World Cup dreams. The Americans allowed five straight goals in a deflating 5-2 loss to the Red Devils in a friendly on Saturday night. The US had not lost by three in a home game in which it scored the opening goal since an 8-1 defeat to England in 1959, according to Opta. “We cannot arrive with the wrong idea of that we are so good, we are so handsome, we are so well dressed and we are Americans,” said US coach Mauricio Pochettino, a former Argentina defender. “Always after the games, when the team wins, (it’s) because we fight, we were aggressive, we were intense, yes? When we drop in that intensity — we saw today.” Preparing to host the World Cup this summer, the US entered with a five-game unbeaten streak and Pochettino’s message to players had been they can win soccer’s top title for the first time. Weston McKennie’s 39th-minute goal from Antonee Robinson’s corner kick put the 15th-ranked US ahead of the world’s No. 9 team. But then the US level lagged. “We didn’t defend our box well enough,” said Matt Turner, who returned to the US goal for the first time since June.

“That’s something that we cannot have. We can’t accept that we didn’t lay everything on the line to keep the ball out of the back of the net because that’s when our tails should be up the most.”

Dodi Lukebakio scored two goals for Belgium and Zeno Debast, Amadou Onana and Charles De Ketelaere had one each. Patrick Agyemang got an 87th-minute goal for the US.

Christian Pulisic, the top American player, failed to convert several good scoring chances. He entered scoreless in his last 12 games with AC Milan and extended his US goal drought to seven games since November 2024.

“Of course I’m disappointed. I have to finish my chances,” Pulisic said. “They aren’t easy chances, but at certain moments — that I expect to do better, for sure.”

Turner said the match reminded him of the 3-1 loss to the Netherlands that eliminated the US from the 2022 World Cup in the round of 16. Belgium withstood US pressure early, then raised its aggressiveness to a level the Americans couldn’t withstand.

“They’re great reminders for us of what the level is going to be like and then our minimum standard of what we should expect from ourselves,” Turner said. “Credit to Belgium, but all that went wrong tonight wasn’t just on how good they were. We were also pretty poor in certain areas.”