The United States’ exit from the World Cup on Monday night “left something on the table,” according to Fox analyst and former U.S. men’s national team player Alexi Lalas.
Reacting to the ugly 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Belgians, Lalas acknowledged that the U.S. World Cup squad had won a lot of people over during the run to the Round of 16, but that the time for little victories had come and gone for the program.
“Also there’s a part of me that says the time for moral victories is over,” Lalas said after the match. “We’ve left something on the table here, and that to me is disappointing. I also know that it’s going to be disappointing to the players and to Mauricio Pochettino when they look as this game. The goals that they gave up at times were self-inflicted against a better team, but this U.S. team has beaten better teams in the past.”
The United States never seemed to get its feet under itself during the match as Belgium jumped to an early lead and kept the U.S. on its heels through the 90-plus minute affair in Seattle.
Even when the United States tied the match, the momentum barely registered and Belgium quickly regained its lead.
“I just felt like they lost the game before they even stepped out onto the pitch,” analyst and U.S. women’s national team great Carli Lloyd said on the Fox broadcast. “I’m not sure why, and I don’t know the reasons, but from the beginning, just chasing, tentative. Scared, just not confident on the ball and I think big-time players – you wanted some of those big-time players to step up in big moments.”
Lloyd didn’t stop there, specifically calling out Christian Pulisic for his effort in the loss.
Pulisic lost possession 11 times in 45 minutes on the pitch, according to ESPN, and a video of his lackadaisical response to Belgium’s third goal caught people’s attention following the match.
“I was a bit disappointed with Christian Pulisic. I think, whether he wants to be the star of this team or not, we didn’t see enough from him in this particular game,” Lloyd continued. “And really the whole World Cup. Little glimpses here and there.”
The question for the United States, once the dust settles, is where the program heads from here.
For now, the sting of Monday night’s loss will be felt for a bit.
