The USMNT were dumped out of the World Cup on Monday by Belgium, with European soccer fans enjoying every second of it. Mauricio Pochettino’s team met their match in Seattle as Belgium put four past Matt Freese to comfortably book their spot in the quarter-finals.

Mauricio Pochettino is USMNT's all-time winningest coach at World Cup after team won three games at this tournament

While the team failed to meet the hopes of many fans, this World Cup highlighted the game’s decades-long climb into the national consciousness. What comes next?

Despite the unceremonious exit, United States fans dare to believe that a quarterfinal run, or maybe even the title itself, is possible in the future.

For all the growth in American soccer over the past quarter-century, the U.S. men’s national team remains stagnant. Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie fared no better at the World Cup in 2022 and 2026 than Tim Howard,

The USMNT was eliminated from the 2026 World Cup after a 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday.

Two U.S. Soccer officials were reportedly suspended by FIFA ahead of the USMNT's game against Belgium. Team manager Sam Zapatka and U.S. Soccer vice president of security Frank Pannell were reportedly suspended ahead of that game,

In the wake of President Trump’s intervention, the Americans hoped to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. Instead, they’re going home.