World Cup 2026: US Team Eliminated, but the Round Ball Conquered the 'Land of the Stars and Stripes'

Despite the summer heat, thousands of fans gathered early at the National Mall in Washington D.C., along with tens of millions of Americans nationwide, to watch and support the national team. The 1-4 defeat to Belgium at Lumen Field in the Round of 16 ended the US team's 2026 World Cup journey in an unwanted manner. An underwhelming performance and political controversies surrounding FIFA's decision to lift striker Folarin Balogun's suspension shattered the host nation's dream of reaching the quarterfinals.

Speaking to a VNA reporter in Washington after the match at the Fan Zone, a fan named Roger remarked that the US players did not play up to their usual standards and failed to display their typical style. He expressed regret that the US team "did not play the way they had throughout this World Cup, did not play to their full potential, and paid the price for it."

Roger tried to explain his team's loss: "Regarding the mental state of the US team, maybe they were stressed, or perhaps... you know, we put too much pressure on them. But in the end, it was Belgium that won."

However, looking beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch, the 2026 World Cup can still be seen as the biggest victory for American soccer in decades. Before the tournament, soccer was still considered a sport behind football, basketball, and baseball in the US. Although the MLS has grown rapidly and attracted more international stars, the national team had yet to generate significant public appeal.

Over the past month, millions of Americans have followed every match of the national team. Public squares were packed with fans, bars were always full when the team played, and social media was flooded with discussions about tactics, players, and the journey of the national soccer team.

Chatting with a VNA reporter after the match, a group of young soccer fans called it "the worst day because we could have done something, but no, things didn't go as hoped" and expressed that "all of us are feeling sad right now."

For Roger, this World Cup was perhaps the best performance by the US team in a long time. He expressed: "I think this will bring about change for American soccer. I believe that at the next World Cup, the US will be a stronger team and will go even further."

Despite being eliminated, the US team created an atmosphere that previous generations of players had never experienced. More importantly, soccer became a topic of everyday conversation among Americans, something that was very rare before.

Although the US team had to leave the 2026 World Cup after their defeat to Belgium, their greatest legacy does not lie in the scoreboard. They may have lost a match, but soccer won in America.