The United States’ quest to get Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned may have opened a Pandora’s box – one specifically designed to contain the national team’s worst nightmares.With a country on the verge of falling in love with this team, and tens of millions eager for a reason to embrace the glory and pride this sport can provide, there were instead questions of fairness and propriety. A star striker, who made an honest, unintentional mistake – and said and did all the right things – became a talking point. And a day later, on an otherwise beautiful Monday evening in the Pacific north-west, the United States’ World Cup dream ended with a thud.With the 4-1 loss to Belgium in the World Cup’s last 16, the United States’ quest to change the way the world views American soccer ended at the same stage as it did in their last three appearances. The question this team rallied around – “Why not us?” – has been replaced by “What could have been?” Or, quite possibly, “What the hell just happened?”Because though there were fleeting moments of hope, this US performance paled in comparison to those that set the world on notice earlier in this competition. No US team has looked better at a World Cup. No US team before scored goals like the ones they did – goals of quality and ingenuity. No US team before defended quite this capably, over such long periods of time.Yet it ended with missed defensive assignments, poor giveaways, and a moment of pure panic from goalkeeper Matt Freese that sealed the US’s fate.Given the events of the previous 36 hours, the US lineup came as no surprise. There was Balogun, starting up top in the same starting XI that so impressed against Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. His presence was always expected after his controversial, Trump-driven reinstatement.On this evening, though, it was Belgium manager Rudi Garcia who provided the first surprise. Two of the team’s stars, Kevin de Bruyne and Jérémy Doku, were omitted even though they were both healthy. Nicolas Raskin came in as the Red Devils’ central playmaker and Dodi Lukébakio replaced Doku on the wing. Lukébakio had terrorized the US in a friendly between the sides in March, scoring two goals in a 5-2 win that raised serious questions about the US’s ability to deal with the world’s best teams.Consider those questions answered.The US can’t claim there weren’t warning signs. In the eighth minute, Amadou Onana shrugged off several challenges and slipped the ball through to Lukébakio. The winger knifed through the US defense, sending a nice ball across the face of goal that Youri Tielemans scuffed. The danger had passed, but not for long.A few minutes later, Belgium connected. This time, it was a long ball up from the back behind Alex Freeman that Leandro Trossard controlled with a single touch. His deflected pass was met by Raskin with a brilliant first touch of his own. He bounced the ball into the ground and past a flock of US defenders, giving Charles De Ketelaere a simple finish. The finish was deflating for the US fans, who dominated the stadium. For the second time in this World Cup, a high-flying US team faced a healthy dose of adversity.And just as they did in the dead-rubber group game against Turkey, they crumbled. Weston McKennie, usually reliable and safe at this World Cup, handed Belgium additional opportunities through loose touches and misplaced passes in midfield. Chris Richards, an anchor at the back, nearly gave the ball to De Ketelaere on the doorstep of goal. It took desperate defending to prevent a second Belgian goal.Malik Tillman’s equalizer came out of nowhere. Balogun was vital, winning a free-kick on the edge of the area with some nice hold-up play. Just as he had against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week, Tillman sent a looping ball over the wall, finding a kind deflection from Hans Vanaken to flat-foot Thibaut Courtois. With the goal, Tillman became just the second player in World Cup history to score twice from direct free-kicks in a single tournament.That will be cold comfort for the US. Any hopes of Tillman’s strike kicking off a US fightback were quickly extinguished. Once again, the Belgian threat came from the US’s right. Trossard again found space behind Freeman and played a well-weighted ball on to the head of De Ketelaere, who had done well to muscle between Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson.Mauricio Pochettino attempted to kickstart things by bringing on Gio Reyna in place of Sergiño Dest. But the US’s bright start to the second half was eventually overshadowed by the cruelest of goalkeeping errors. It wasn’t immediately clear why Matt Freese came so far off his line to meet a long ball in the 57th minute, or why he hesitated to clear the ball after chesting it away from De Ketelaere. But the end result was a clear chance for Vanaken, who rolled the ball into an open net from distance. Freese and US captain Tim Ream were left with their heads in their hands.It seemed like the final nail. It wasn’t. Romelu Lukaku finished the US off in added time with a smart finish, and moments later the US players fell to their knees. Richards stayed in a fetal position, his face in the grass, for several minutes before he was consoled by teammates.It was dreamland to reality check. The US had gone from confident, to controversial, to overawed. The swashbuckling side had faded under the cool, shady clouds that tend to greet every day here along Puget Sound. US fans will only hope that the skies open again four years from now, delivering a side who have fully moved on from whatever Monday was.