There will be no World Cup quarterfinal for the United States as a clinical and ruthless Belgium ended the hopes of the last host nation standing.Standing on the brink of history, the United States folded in Seattle, losing 4-1 to a Belgian team that produced their best performance of the tournament.Chris Richards tears at the final whistle underlined the nation’s disappointmentGettyMauricio Pochettino’s future will come under scrutiny with his contract up after the tournamentGettyIn March, the US were humbled 5-2 by Belgium in a pre-World Cup friendly and back in 2014 in Germany it was Belgium who ended US hopes with a Round of 16 win.There was no revenge in 2026.For the USMNT, it was their worst, as defensive disarray and a lack of attacking threat from the outset saw a memorable tournament end on the lowest of lows.Mauricio Pochettino was left kicking water bottles in frustration, while Captain America Christian Pulisic appeared to be in tears on the sideline as he was substituted midway through the second half.View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/USMNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAnd as the final whistle blew, Chris Richards slumped to the ground as the tears began to flow.Two goals from Charles De Ketelaere and one each from Hans Vanakan after a terrible Matt Freese mistake and Romelu Lukaku spelt the end for Pochettino and his squad.Malik Tillman had briefly raised hopes when he levelled the game with a deflected free-kick but the US were on level terms for just 61 seconds as De Ketelaere restored the lead to leave Pochettino furious on the sideline.For the fourth World Cup in succession and sixth in their history, the US men’s dream fades at the Round of 16 stage – and it is Belgium who advance to a quarterfinal with European champions Spain.The US started slowly, despite confirming Folarin Balogun in their starting lineup and could have been behind even earlier than De Ketelaere ninth minute opener.After Tillman and De Ketelaere had exchanged goals it wasn’t until the second half that Belgium sealed the win that their dominance deserved.The United States World Cup dream is over for another four yearsGettyPlayers could not hide their disappointment at the final whistleGettyBut the USMNT were architects of their own downfall.Firstly Freese’s shocking mistake having charged out of his goal allowed Vanakan to steer home from long range.And as a Seattle Stadium that was raucous before kickoff slumped into silence, Romelu Lukaku pounced on a Chris Richards mistake to add a fourth Hopes had never been higher of reaching just a second quarterfinal in men’s World Cup history after wins over Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia-HerzegovinaBut instead tears, and the Round of 16 that has proved so problematic will prompt questions over Pochettino’s future.The former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain coach had been linked to other jobs on the eve of the tournament, but also having been the subject of talks about an extension as expectations rose.History MakersDonovan, Dempsey, Pulisic – How far can Christian Pulisic climb in the list of all-time USMNT scorers?From GK heroes to superstar strikers – ranking the greatest USMNT World Cup performances of all timeGoal machines to the man who burned his kit after World Cup snub – who has made the most appearances for USMNT?Third place on World Cup debut and group stage agony – a World Cup history from 1930 to 2026It means they are into a first quarterfinal since 2002 in Korea and Japan when they beat Mexico to reach the last eight where they lost 1-0 to Germany.While the US Women’s Team have won four World Cups and reached at least the semifinals in eight of the nine tournaments to be played, the men have still just record one quarterfinal appearance since their third placed finish in 1930.World Cup WhatsAppDon't miss an update from talkSPORT in our dedicated World Cup WhatsApp channel.Search for ‘talkSPORT World Cup’ in your ‘Updates’ tab on WhatsApp and we’ll drop the proper, unfiltered football chat straight to your lock screen—no fluff, just pure talkSPORT energy.It’s where you’ll find out all the new rules to watch out for, England and Scotland reaction and big match player ratings. Plus there will be loads of debates on the biggest talking points as Haaland, Mbappe, Kane and the biggest names in football descend on America, Canada and Mexico.Stay up to date with the World Cup across all our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ETAll 104 games at the 2026 World Cup will be live on talkSPORT, talkSPORT 2 and the talkSPORT app.