The U.S. men’s national team had titanic hopes for the 2026 World Cup on home soil but crashed out in uninspiring fashion with a 4–1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16. The tournament run still had great elements of success that can provide lessons for the future, even if the final day couldn’t have gone any worse for U.S. Soccer, on or off the pitch. The embarrassing loss was preceded by the controversy surrounding Folarin Balogun’s status and the involvement of FIFA, the White House and President Donald Trump. It was one terrible day steeped in a month of positivity.Here, Sports Illustrated selects the three biggest winners and three biggest losers from the USMNT’s dream-turned-nightmare of a World Cup run. LOSER: Christian PulisicChristian Pulisic didn't have the World Cup he would have dreamed of. | Erin Chang/ISI Photos/Getty ImagesWhen the U.S., Canada and Mexico won the bid to co-host the 2026 World Cup back in 2018, Christian Pulisic was already touted as the first generational superstar from the United States. While he hit great heights initially with Borussia Dortmund, won a Champions League title at Chelsea and found some early success with AC Milan, that hasn’t translated to the USMNT. Despite being the face of the team for nearly a decade, he hasn’t come anywhere close to the likes of Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, or other USMNT greats. This summer was his chance to write his own legend, and he failed under the brightest lights, ending with just a single assist in four games.He had flashes against Paraguay and Bosnia and Herzegovina, yet he failed to make any real impact in the decisive match against Belgium, where an injury forced him off the pitch before the hour mark. There remains a possibility that he was more injured than he let on all summer long, but it is nonetheless true that he is in a slump, underperforming for the USMNT since skipping the 2025 Gold Cup and experiencing a horrific goal-less drought with AC Milan in the spring. Pulisic will be a part of the USMNT for the rest of his career; he’s good enough. Yet his impact at 31 years old in the 2030 World Cup and his commitment in the years leading up to it remain to be seen.WINNER: Malik TillmanMalik Tillman had a standout World Cup and could be a key piece moving forward. | Charlotte Wilson/Getty ImagesMalik Tillman was one of the few players on the USMNT who committed to the program for nearly all of Pochettino’s tenure, playing a key role at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, which translated into a move to Bayer Leverkusen and, further, into an impressive showing at this summer’s World Cup. While he got some lucky bounces on free-kick goals against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Belgium, he showed himself to be the top choice from direct dead-ball opportunities. He was consistent in his creativity and chance creation in attacking midfield. At the same time, he consistently paired with the underwhelming Weston McKennie in a midfield pivot and provided strong hold-up play, allowing overlapping fullbacks to make runs before playing through balls. Ending his tournament with an assist and a pair of goals, the 24-year-old puts himself in a strong position to be the most important player for the USMNT in the years to come, set to be 28 when the next World Cup rolls around. LOSER: Mauricio PochettinoMauricio Pochettino has reached the end of his contract. | Sarah Stier/FIFA/Getty ImagesMauricio Pochettino didn’t have a full cycle to prepare for the World Cup and spent much of his first year and a half as manager trialing over 80 players to land on his core group for the World Cup. By the time the tournament rolled around, the core group had only truly been present since the March friendlies, which featured two losses to Portugal and Belgium. At the World Cup, Pochettino was a beneficiary of the expanded format, becoming the first manager to coach the USMNT to three wins at a single World Cup, using the extra round of 32 to do it. His team inevitably floundered at the round of 16, its usual exit point since the quarterfinal run in 2002. As strong as the USMNT looked all summer, it was clear that it wasn’t up to the level against Belgium, and Rudi Garcia thoroughly out-coached Pochettino. After showing no progression or energy in the final stage of its World Cup effort, losing to Panama and Canada in the 2025 Concacaf Nations League semifinals and third-place match and falling to Mexico in the 2025 Gold Cup, there’s no reason to think Pochettino deserves to stick around—especially considering what the federation pays him.The employment options will be plenty for the Argentine boss, but the performance at the World Cup no doubt hurt his case for future international management opportunities. It would be stunning to see him back on the touchline for the USMNT’s fall friendlies. WINNER: Alex FreemanAlex Freeman’s performance against Australia will have turned some heads. | John Todd/ISI Photos/Getty ImagesAlex Freeman’s rise has been remarkable. While he made a poor clearance that led to Belgium’s opening goal in the round of 16, his performances throughout the group stage and against Bosnia and Herzegovina were impressive. Tasked with playing a largely unfamiliar role in a back-three for much of the tournament, but still asked to charge forward in a wider role when the team gained possession, the former Orlando City defender showed his awareness and transitional qualities. He played all but 77 of the 450 minutes of USMNT World Cup action. His best moments came in the team’s most complete showing at the World Cup, a 2–0 win over Australia in Seattle, where he scored the second goal after following a loose ball into the six-yard box and heading it home. That day also saw him make four tackles and five clearances, showing the qualities he can bring as a versatile defender. As the youngest player on the team, the 21-year-old has a bright future in red, white and blue and could play a key role in the lead up to the 2030 World Cup.LOSER: Matt FreeseMatt Freese likely surrendered his stronghold on the USMNT’s top goalkeeping role. | MB Media/Getty ImagesThe USMNT is not flush with many goalkeeping options. All three of Matt Freese, Matt Turner and Chris Brady play in MLS and aren’t among the league’s top goalkeepers, but were clearly the top options for Pochettino’s efforts this summer. Freese, under the greatest pressure against Belgium, had one of the worst games of the tournament and made the biggest mistake of his career on Hans Vanaken’s goal. At a macro level, the real loser is the USMNT’s goalkeeping hopes as a whole, but in effect, it came down to Freese’s struggles to be truly game-changing in any of the games this summer, as he was at the 2025 Gold Cup—of course, a very different level of play from the World Cup. With his lackluster performances, the goalkeeping battle is once again wide open, and Freese now has a dismal performance in the team’s most important game in a generation on his resumé. WINNER: American Soccer FansThe USMNT’s support grew like never before. | Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/Getty ImagesThe long-term impact of this World Cup won’t be fully felt for years, but every indication suggests it was a highly successful tournament off the pitch, despite its disheartening finish on it. Unlike the tournament in 1994, U.S. fans knew about soccer this summer. They grew to enjoy their own country’s national team, with viewership numbers on Fox and Telemundo smashing previous records, including the over 36 million fans who tuned in to watch the round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. A deeper run, even just to the quarterfinals, would have immensely helped the sport’s status in the U.S. Still, the fact of the matter is that U.S. Soccer has never received so much attention as it has in the last few weeks, especially given the influence of social media and some of the prominent celebrities and personalities that bought into the team.At the same time, the fans at games brought an unparalleled passion and embraced “Country Roads” as an emphatic win song, which could easily become a longstanding anthem tradition for generations to come. Where will all the fandom go? There will definitely be supporters flocking to watch games on TV, and because of its accessibility, the English Premier League stands to benefit the most. Yet there could also be a boost in MLS viewership among those who grew to like soccer in the U.S.READ THE LATEST USMNT NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow