USA head coach: "We were not on the pitch against Belgium"

USA national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino spoke openly about the reasons for the defeat after the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium.

The USA lost 1-4 and exited the tournament. The Argentine specialist noted that the team seemed unprepared for the game and took full responsibility for the result.

"We couldn't get into the game from the start"

Pochettino said that the USA failed to show their game from the very first minutes of the match.

"Everyone saw it, we couldn't get into the game from the start. It was as if we weren't on the pitch for this match," he said.

Although the USA equalized to 1-1, they conceded another goal in the very next attack and handed control of the game to the opponent.

"Belgium was better than us"

The USA coach acknowledged the opponent's victory and stated that he did not want to look for excuses for the defeat.

"I congratulate the Belgium national team, they were better than us. This was not our day. There is no need to look for excuses," said Pochettino.

In his opinion, the USA failed to demonstrate a level of play consistent with their potential.

The team must learn from the defeat

Pochettino said the main task now is to analyze the game in depth and understand why the team was not as prepared as in previous matches.

"We have to learn. This is a process of analyzing, learning lessons, and understanding why we were not as prepared for this game as we were for previous ones," the coach said.

He noted that there could be several reasons for the defeat, but the simplest answer is that neither the team nor the individuals performed well that day.

"I take responsibility"

Instead of blaming the team after the defeat, Pochettino took personal responsibility.

"I take responsibility for this. We need to analyze the situation deeply and understand that this is neither our usual game nor our style," he said.

The heavy defeat against Belgium was the end of the World Cup for the USA. Now the team faces serious analysis and new conclusions, not excuses.