Inside the USMNT's World Cup: BBQ bonding, squad's shock over Balogun and exit 'depression'

Inside the USMNT's World Cup, the U.S. squad’s hopes ended abruptly at Lumen Field after a 4-1 round-of-16 defeat to Belgium on Monday night. Players who had recently embraced the unusual, celebratory atmosphere in Seattle were left collapsing or staring at the turf, while Gio Reyna said they had expected to return to Los Angeles for a quarterfinal. Instead, the team returned by bus to its hotel, then spent the following 24 hours saying goodbyes with drinks and debriefing. They sent farewell messages in a WhatsApp group and departed via Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The broader context begins with coach Mauricio Pochettino’s 2024 arrival, when he described a culture shock and said he felt the team needed a “big punch.” The article also references controversy around Christian Pulisic’s early departure from an Austin camp and how veterans, including Tim Howard and Alexi Lalas, criticized “load management.”