ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� Belgium gave a dressing down to a U.S. team with big World Cup dreams.
The Americans allowed five straight goals in a deflating in a friendly on Saturday night. The U.S. 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.
鈥淲e 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,鈥� said U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, a former Argentina defender. 鈥淎lways 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 鈥� we saw today.鈥�
Preparing to host the this summer, the U.S. entered with a and had been they can win soccer鈥檚 top title for the first time.
Weston McKennie’s 39th-minute goal from Antonee Robinson’s corner kick put the 15th-ranked U.S. ahead of the world’s No. 9 team. But then the U.S. level lagged.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 defend our box well enough,鈥� said , who returned to the U.S. goal for the first time since June. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that we cannot have. We can鈥檛 accept that we didn鈥檛 lay everything on the line to keep the ball out of the back of the net because that鈥檚 when our tails should be up the most.鈥�
Dodi Luk茅bakio 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 U.S., which has lost seven straight games to European opponents while getting outscored 20-6.
, 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 U.S. goal drought to seven games since November 2024.
鈥淥f course I鈥檓 disappointed. I have to finish my chances,鈥� Pulisic said. 鈥淭hey aren’t easy chances, but at certain moments 鈥� that I expect to do better, for sure.鈥�
Last fall’s unbeaten streak included wins over (currently No. 18), (27), (38) and (17) plus a draw vs. (23). The U.S. plays No. 5 Portugal on Tuesday in its last game before Pochettino announces his World Cup roster on May 26.
鈥淲e have to beat teams like this if we want to have a chance to go far in the tournament,鈥� Pulisic said.
Turner said the match reminded him of the that eliminated the U.S. from the 2022 World Cup in the round of 16. Belgium withstood U.S. pressure early, then raised its aggressiveness to a level the Americans couldn’t withstand.
鈥淭hey’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.鈥� Turner said. 鈥淐redit to Belgium, but all that went wrong tonight wasn鈥檛 just on how good they were. We were also pretty poor in certain areas.鈥�
Both teams missed several regulars because of injuries and fitness: the Americans missed Tyler Adams, Sergi帽o Dest and Chris Richards, and Belgium was without Romelu Lukaku, Leandro Trossard, Hans Vanaken and Thibaut Courtois.
鈥淭his team is better than the result,鈥� Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said. 鈥淲e started bad, but also because the USA was more aggressive than us.鈥�
With , the U.S. started 38-year-old Tim Ream in central defense along with Mark McKenzie.
There was no American defender within 5 yards when Debast scored the equalizer from about 30 yards in the 45th minute after Turner parried J茅r茅my Doku’s initial attempt. Onana put Belgium ahead in the 53rd with a shot through the center of the penalty area after a layback from Alexis Saelemaekers.
De Ketelaere converted a penalty kick in the 59th after Thomas Meunier’s shot glanced off Ream’s left arm. Lukebakio spun around Max Arfsten to score in the 68th and then had an open shot after Timothy Castagne’s cross deflected off a foot of Sebastian Berhalter in the 82nd.
An exasperated Ream stared upward, hands on hips.
鈥淚n too many actions that we were in place, we have superiority, but we were not aggressive enough.鈥� Pochettino said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good check, reality for us, because now is the moment to feel this type of situation, to improve.鈥�
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