The United States Men’s National Team fell 5-2 to the Belgium Red Devils on Saturday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a tale of two halves, as the first half looked to be a tight match at 1-1. The second half is where the Belgians showed their dominance and scored four goals. Weston McKennie scored for the U.S. while Dodi Lukébakio scored an impressive brace for Belgium.
Things were awkward from the start as the two sides took the pitch in similar kits; The Belgians in a white kit with pastel circles, almost mirroring a cherry blossom, and the U.S. in their stars and stripes kit, with the back of the kit mostly white. For those watching on TV, it was hard to follow who had possession, but that was the least of the USMNT’s worries.
The U.S. saw its first chance at goal in the 16th minute. In a crowded box, a deflected ball fell to the feet of Weston McKennie. With a few yards of space and no one to mark him, he took a chance on goal within feet of goalkeeper Senne Lammens. The Belgian brick wall made a split-second save to keep the game locked at nil-nil.
McKennie would get his just desserts in the 39th minute. From a corner kick, McKennie beat his man in the box and scored with a mid-air flick behind him to beat the keeper, igniting the crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Belgium scored in the 53rd minute with a goal from Zeno Debast. It took the Belgians the entire first half to get in sync, but once they did, they became a nightmare for the U.S.
Pulisic looked close to breaking the deadlock in the 51st minute, but skied his attempt in front of goal. Timothy Weah fell outside the box but was able to flick the ball to Pulisic. The captain dribbled around three defenders and had a clear shot on goal, but the attempt sailed over the bar.
Two minutes later, it would be Belgium who split the tie after a low, one-timed shot from Amadou Onana. There was enough power behind the ball that goalkeeper Matt Turner didn’t stand a chance. A handball six minutes after that led to a converted penalty from Charles De Ketelaere to push the scoreline to 3-1 over the U.S.
Things continued to get out of hand in the second half when Dodi Lukébakio started down his right, cut in to his left, and sent a long-distance ball curling to the top corner. To add insult to injury, the Belgians brought on two veterans in Youri Tielemans and Axel Witsel.
The Americans were punished yet again when a loose ball was in the box. It was the same story with Lukébakio. He recovered the ball, took a touch to his left, and fired another rocket that Turner had no chance of saving. Patrick Agyemang was able to salvage a consolation goal from a bad pass and bring them back within three.
“[The penalty] It changed the game,” American midfielder Cristian Roldan began. “The difference (also) was quality in front of goal. You look at the difference with those who’ve played Champions League, there is a difference.” He finished by saying they’ll learn from this and prepare for Portugal.
The USMNT will learn and make adjustments before Tuesday’s clash with Portugal on March 31 at 7:00 PM/ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
-Jon Jones
Cover Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Soccer