"They did surprise us. Nobody expected that they can play like that." That's Christian Karembeu — 1998 World Cup winner, someone who has watched this game at the highest level for decades — talking about the United States national team. That's not faint praise. That's a verdict.
The USMNT's Round of 16 exit against Belgium stings, and it should. Key defensive errors gifted goals to a Belgian side the U.S. were capable of beating. Pochettino himself didn't reach for excuses — he acknowledged the lack of precision when it mattered most. That kind of accountability is actually a decent sign of where this program is headed.
Pochettino's fingerprints are all over this
Karembeu was specific about the credit. It's Pochettino's work that shifted perceptions. Speed, possession, genuine attacking talent — these weren't traits European observers associated with American soccer coming into this tournament. They are now.
"I think Pochettino has done a great job and you need to be proud of Team USA because we didn't expect that," Karembeu told Fox News Digital. Coming from a player who was on the pitch when France won the whole thing, that carries weight.
The Folarin Balogun red card saga — FIFA invoking Article 27 to overturn his suspension, a furious Belgian Football Federation response, even Donald Trump calling Gianni Infantino to push for a review — added noise in the build-up to the match. Whether it distracted the squad is impossible to measure. What's clear is that the U.S. didn't perform to their ceiling on the day, regardless of the off-pitch circus.
2030 is the real target now
Karembeu didn't hedge when asked about the future. He went further than most pundits have dared: Team USA in a World Cup final in 2030, when the tournament heads to Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
"I don't think it'll be surprising in the next four years — Team USA will maybe go to the final. Because now they have seen what was missing maybe, but I think it was more a lack of experience. Otherwise, they have the potential."
That's the real takeaway from this tournament. The gap isn't talent. It's the composure that only comes from playing — and losing — in moments like the Belgium match. The U.S. got that experience on home soil, in front of a country that was fully locked in. That's not nothing.
One important asterisk: the U.S. no longer gets an automatic World Cup berth. The host nation exemption is gone. They'll need to qualify for 2030 through CONCACAF, which is typically straightforward — but it's a process that requires attention, not assumption.
The Belgium result will fade. What Pochettino has built here won't.
