The thrill of a dominant opening win over Paraguay. An assured follow-up against Australia. The guts and the grit to dig in, and see off Bosnia and Herzegovina despite Folarin Balogun’s red card. A controversial decision to overturn it.The USMNT’s dramatic summer deserved a fitting denouement; instead, it ended in calamity and disappointment against Belgium — a brutal twist of irony after all that had gone before.Mauricio Pochettino’s team did not deserve to beat Belgium. They struggled to impose the pass-and-move soccer that had lit up their early group-stage games against higher-quality opposition. When they looked to counter-press, Belgium played their way out. It meant they failed to establish the territorial control that allowed them to dictate those previous games.With less control, fewer opportunities, and much more riding on every pass, the pressure told.Despite all of that, the U.S. were still in it midway through the second half. Trailing 2-1, they came out with renewed energy after the break, as Pochettino switched to a back four and pushed Antonee Robinson and Alexander Freeman further up the pitch. As the clock ticked towards 60 minutes, they were still in with a chance.