(ESPN) USMNT goes out of world cup with a very disappointing performance

This wasn’t enough. Not nearly. Not even close.

It might feel harsh to boil down a month of excitement and exhilaration to something as simple as that, but for all of the pageantry and majesty of high-level sports, the scoreboard always tells the tale. The United States men’s national team gave this country everything it could have wanted from a home team in a World Cup: beauty and belief, passion and grit, a buzzing, rising feeling that this was a moment we would always remember.

Everything, except another game.

Is it a failure? It doesn’t matter. There will be plenty of focus on that word and whether it applies, but the honest truth is this: It makes no difference what you call it because it’s clear what this was not — a success.

The players know. Mauricio Pochettino was brought here to elevate the talent pool, sure, and to enhance the program’s tactical acumen, absolutely. But mostly he was recruited — with dollars kicked in by high-value U.S. Soccer donors — to deliver a different ending to these summers.

Read it all.

USMNT will look back at 2026 World Cup as a missed opportunity. Unfortunately the US soccer team was definitely out played outsmarted both on offense and defense. https://t.co/E7esLw7XRx

— Thomas Reilly (@ThomasR84194144) July 7, 2026