The Americans’ potential lasted exactly 61 seconds in the World Cup round of 16 against Belgium. How do they get it to last 90 minutes?

The U.S. men’s national team was thrashed 4–1 by the European powerhouse in Seattle this summer, bowing out at the same stage that had gotten the better of it five times previously at soccer’s grandest affair, including the last three editions of the tournament in which it competed (2010, 2014, 2022).

But for the briefest moment, it looked like the Stars and Stripes were going to rewrite their fate.

Belgium barraged the USMNT from the kickoff, taking all of nine minutes to get on the board, yet star midfielder Malik Tillman brought the Americans a glimmer of hope just past the half-hour mark with his signature free kick, equalizing the match with a perfectly-placed finish that rattled the net and Lumen Field alike.

That hope won’t last long, though, as Belgium responded just a minute later in the very next play, a swiftness that foretold Tillman’s finish would be nothing more than a consolation prize.

What fell apart? The USMNT had entered the stadium a marginal favorite. Certainly no one expected a blowout loss. Although Belgium ranked top-10 globally, the Red Devils had performed inconsistently across North America up until that point. Meanwhile, the host team floated in on a magical cloud.

More importantly, how does the USMNT prevent this from happening again? The circumstances will be even more challenging for the American boys at the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Spain and Portugal, no longer able to feed on the energy of a raucous home crowd.

It’s not a quick fix, but rather, something that will take all four years to overcome.

USMNT Lacking High-Stakes Moments

The USMNT players individually experience high-stakes matches almost weekly during the club season. Most of them play in Europe’s top leagues, including the English Premier League, the Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga, which also bring major tournaments like the Champions League, Europa League and the FA Cup.

But together, while representing their homeland, these high-stakes matches don’t happen nearly enough, meaning battles with global powers like Belgium add a shock value that can form a barrier too difficult to overcome, as painfully evidenced by the round of 16.

“That outside pressure of playing in a big game, in a big stadium, in a big environment, that builds character, so that when you get into a game like Belgium, you can say, ‘Come on, let’s have it,’” former USMNT goalkeeper Brad Guzan said last week on the Unfiltered Podcast.

For starters, the USMNT automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup as co-host, meaning it did not have to go through the standard qualification competition prior to the tournament. That is already one high-stakes opportunity scratched off the list.

Across the four-year cycle between the 2022 and 2026 World Cups, the currently ranked No. 16 Stars and Stripes played in just 17 outings against nations ranked top-20 globally, nine of which came against either their familiar rival Mexico (five), Colombia (two) or Uruguay (two). They simply did not face enough diverse high-caliber competition, nor did many of those outings mark high-stake endeavors. Of those 17 games, just three were actually competitive matches, in Concacaf Nations League, Concacaf Gold Cup and Copa América, respectively. Those tournaments, especially the former two, don’t give the USMNT anything close to World Cup-caliber pressure.

And just five of those 17 matches came against teams ranked top-10 globally prior to the start of the World Cup, two of which were against Germany and none of which were competitive matches. Three of the five were all stacked in the months leading up to the World Cup, as opposed to consistently spread throughout the four-year cycle.

Capitalizing on, Curating High-Stakes Moments for the USMNT

True, the USMNT can’t do much about where it’s located geographically—it will continue to compete in Concacaf tournaments and Copa América (if invited), often facing Caribbean and South American nations that don’t give it the real test it needs, but are match-ups simple to arrange and easy to get to. The team also cannot do anything about the UEFA Nations League, which effectively prevents the U.S. from facing European teams in certain international windows due to that inter-confederation competition.

What the USMNT can work towards, though, are two things. Firstly, making the most of the competitions it does play in, doing better to treat them as if they were World Cup matches.

“If we’re in Copa América, look to get to a Copa América final,” former USMNT star goalkeeper Tim Howard said toward that end. “Win the Gold Cup. Win [World Cup] qualifying. Win the Nations League. I don’t know exactly where our Olympic team is, but maybe medal, maybe get to a semifinal.”

Secondly, manager Mauricio Pochettino needs to prioritize planning more high-caliber friendlies throughout the four years when the schedule permits it, even if the added travel to Europe compromises overall player rest time or narrows the international window. The majority of the USMNT stars are already in Europe, anyways. Rotate the others more heavily.

The pure experience of the high-caliber match-ups is worth more than any downside. It allows for regular check-ins to see how the team is progressing by the standards of the best in the world and naturally raises the stakes of the game.

“Give them tangible steps, so they’re not like, ‘Well, let’s hope we get to the quarterfinal in four years,’” Howard added. “There have got to be steps. Players have got to get to big moments.”