Who will be the hero for the United States today? Or do they even need one?
Meanwhile, arguably the World Cup's two best midfields clash in a battle for Iberia.
Dave Clark
Today's games
Spain vs. Portugal
Time: 12 pm Pacific
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
TV: Fox, Telemundo
Online: Fox One, Peacock
USA vs. Belgium
Time: 5 pm Pacific
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
TV: Fox, Telemundo
Online: Fox One, Peacock
The new issue of IV: The Sounder at Heart magazine is now available for pre-order. Issue 2 will focus on Seattle’s role in the 2026 World Cup.
What’s interesting today?
The USMNT has won more games at this World Cup than they have in any before. Their 10 goals are already three more than they’ve ever scored at a World Cup and have never given up fewer than the four that they’ve conceded.
It has, by any measure, been a smashing success. So far.
The “so far” looms so large because, as good as things have been, it has not come against a single team ranked in the top 25 of the FIFA rankings. There’s been no historical power. They don’t have a famous win and they’ve only reached the Round of 16, which they’ve done seven times before and in each of the last three World Cups they’ve participated in.
As wonderfully as the Americans have played, they still haven’t quite made their mark, but they have a chance to change that tonight against Belgium.
A win over a Top 10 team to book their spot in the quarterfinals would be transcendent. Every goal, even if it’s an own-goal, would go into the pantheon of American soccer.
After all, the first line on Tim Howard’s resume is not FA Cup winner, or MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, or Confederations Cup Golden Gloves, or three-time CONCACAF Goalkeeper of the Year. It’s his performance in the 2014 World Cup Round of 16 against this same Belgium team — a match that the U.S. didn’t even win.
Imagine being the star of the team that wins that game?
People have been dying to build a Christian Pulisic statue for years, but without a moment that would etch him in stone. This would be that.
Weston McKennie’s climb from being dismissed from the team to hero would be told as a redemption story forever.
Ricardo Pepi would be held up as a vision of the American dream as the kid from El Paso who chose the U.S. over Mexico.
Tim Ream would be the old man making good, a triumph of someone who saw the U.S. team through all of their ups and down.
Folarin Balogun, well that one sure is complicated now. Is he the illegitimate goal scorer, the birthright citizen being celebrated by some who abhor the concept, or simply the first good striker the U.S. have had in a decade making a difference? Yes.
But the U.S. are unlikely to win this game on the back of one player. If it comes down to one star showing out or a moment of magic, that will likely belong to Belgium as Jérémy Doku eviscerates an American defense that can wobble, Kevin De Bruyne finds just enough space to hit a ball perfectly, Leandro Trossard walks himself into the half space, keeps the ball in traffic and slots one into the corner or Youri Tielemans pops up a the exact right time to change a match.
What makes Belgium so dangerous is not their ability to drive play, because they don’t. Or how they move as a unit, because they don’t. Or their malleability to expose an opponent’s weakness, because they don’t.
It is in their handful of top-end talents, who when the game slows down can do things that defy reason. And they need that because Rudi Garcia is just the latest Belgium manager who hasn’t been able to construct a team that makes the most of their talent or comes to games with bespoke, brilliant game plans.
That opens the door for a U.S. team that has thus far proved a perfect match for Mauricio Pochettino’s all gas, no brakes approach. They’ve run more than any team at the tournament and perfectly executed each match’s particular tactical plan, as the Argentinian has tweaked the approach every game and caused his opponents hell.
Because Garcia has done little to adjust to the game or even his own talent at any given time, Pochettino and his staff will have a good idea of what to expect and have a game plan to attack it, but because of how his system works, it won’t come down to one player. The out-of-possession pressure, constant use of runners from deep and interchanges all over the pitch require the execution of everyone on the pitch.
Rare is there a time when a move relies on one player, which should present the Belgians with serious obstacles. They don’t have the pace to run with the U.S. or system to make problem-solving easier.
Should Pochettino use the same right-sided triangle to move the ball into the final third that he did against Bosnia and Herzegovina and then overload the Belgium left back with runners, it’s hard to imagine Garcia having drilled his side how to slide help over and then replace the vacated space with additional defenders to pick up midfield runners. If the U.S. shape changes in the counterpress, Belgium will almost certainly end up relying on individual skill to deal with it instead of some system to make teammates available.
If the U.S. win, there will be a hero. Someone will score the goal and they will ascend to American soccer immortality. That moment will change the image of the USMNT and this team will finally have "their game that changes everything," but the Americans’ path to that victory is not on the back of one player.
In a world of cliches about games being won by teams, it’s the name on the front and not the name on the back that matters, not needing all 11 men, but all 26 to reach greatness, the U.S. actually is that team. And they certainly are in this game.
It’s going to be a midfield-off in Arlington, as arguably the World Cup’s two best in the middle of the pitch square off.
Spain’s only midfield problem is they have too many good options, having rotated Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Pedri, Gavi and Mikel Merino through, while also playing Alex Baena and Dani Olmo in pseudo midfield roles.
Exactly who Luis de la Fuente chooses for this match is almost immaterial because any combination of them is excellent, but Rodri, Ruiz and Pedri feel like the best bet, with Olmo or Baena nominally playing left wing.
Portugal’s midfield should be carrying them this World Cup. After all, they get to port over Vitinha and João Neves from Paris Saint-Germain, reuniting one of the best midfields in the club world, which should be the biggest hack in international soccer. Somehow, Roberto Martinez hasn’t been able to make that work seamlessly and that’s despite being able to add the brilliant Bruno Fernandes in front of them.
There’s no way for Portugal to win this game without their midfield going toe-to-toe with Spain, which would be an impossible ask for almost any team in this tournament, but they can actually pull it off.
There will be talk about Cristiano Ronaldo (should not play, duh), do Spain need a winger opposite Lamine Yamal (probably, but unless Nico Williams gets fit that ain’t happening) or any number of other things, but this game is about the middle of the park and that means advantage Spain … unless Portugal finally figure it out. It’s on the table.
