USMNT player ratings for WC 2026 after loss to Belgium

What was such an inspiring World Cup journey came to a disappointing end.

As the competition gets tougher, there are more consequences for not performing. It can’t be a day when so many guys are passengers. On the day it was simple: Belgium were the better side.

The performance today was nowhere near what these players expected of themselves and I think that is where the biggest disappointment will come from. It wasn’t where it needed to be to give the USA a chance to win the game.

Rather than just judging the players for their performances against Belgium, let’s take a bigger picture of how they fared throughout the tournament. (However, we start with the trainer.)

American Player Ratings

I thought he did well in the tournament. Some people gave him stick for making changes in the last group stage match against Türkiye when there was nothing to play for, but in the end it was justified. You saw what happened in the next match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, when a well-rested team performed very well in the round of 16.

The line-up Pochettino chose against Belgium was the right one. It was the best XI available.

Ultimately, I think there will be some criticism because the belief was that he could take us that step further than we have been. But I tip my hat to him and thought he handled this group well throughout the group stage.

USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s future with the national team is uncertain after the World Cup. (John Todd/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Rating · 8

For me, Weston was the best player in the tournament for us.

There’s a reason he played the most minutes of anyone in this team, and there’s a reason Pochettino trusts him so much in midfield. He offers a lot at both ends of the court.

I think it will bode well for him going forward to get another World Cup under his belt. He will remain a big part of our midfield backbone.

Rating · 8

Flo was right up there with Weston throughout the tournament. As I’ve said throughout the World Cup, he’s the No. 9 we’ve been waiting for.

Balogun was the man of the match on several occasions and his influence was felt during this World Cup. He will continue to be the goalkeeper for this team.

Rating · 7

Tillman is a special player. He offers something different compared to Weston and Tyler Adams and consistently delivers quality on the ball.

I am very excited about this midfield trio going forward.

Rating · 7

Freeman showed himself very well against Belgium. He had moments, but ultimately he was not at the level of consistency that we had seen during the group stage or against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For a 21-year-old, he behaved incredibly well.

Alex Freeman was an outstanding player for the USA during this World Cup. (Jane Gershovich/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Rating · 7

He is our anchor and a big part of our spine moving forward. It was important for me to give Chris this experience at the WC. He will take on even more responsibility in the future.

Part of Christian’s assessment is due to the calf injury he sustained in the group stage. A lot of his tournament was affected by that as he maybe wasn’t on the field as much as we needed him to be.

So against Belgium he struggled to get the type of involvement he knows he can. When Christian is at his best and sharpest, we win that game.

When he does, he commits defenders to him, beats players off the dribble, gets shots off, gets access to the final third. If nothing else, he attracts the attention of the defense.

In the end, he wasn’t able to make that kind of impact against Belgium because he didn’t have the chances to play more minutes earlier in the tournament.

Without the performance against Belgium this is a 7 or an 8. My rating was definitely affected by that defeat though.

I felt that Tyler could have been more authoritative and dictated more of the game against Belgium. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise solid WC.

Ream was not at his best against Belgium as he helped concede three of them. In the end, I thought he had a good tournament minus this performance.

Unfortunately for him, this game against Belgium was when we needed him the most and the opposition got the better of him.

Against Belgium, Antonee was just a little less effective than he has been during the tournament. Still, he is one of our most consistent players from match to match.

It’s interesting with Sergiño because he plays somewhat out of position. He is traditionally a right back and plays there for his club and has previously been for the national team, but he was a right winger for this tournament.

Against Belgium it wasn’t his best day, but he looked threatening at times throughout the World Cup.

During the tournament, he made the saves that he needed to make, along with a couple of bigger saves, even against Belgium.

What will stand out, however, is the glaring mistake he made that led directly to the third Belgian goal. That really put the game out of reach for us and made it even harder to get back into it.