USA stars sit and pray on the field long after devastating World Cup exit to Holland  

After the United States’ World Cup elimination at the hands of the Netherlands on Saturday, some players stayed on the field to ‘reflect on the journey’.

Gregg Berhalter’s side were beaten 3-1 by the Netherlands in the round of 16 after Memphis Depay, Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries all scored for the Dutch and Haji Wright’s goal was mere consolation.

While the loss eliminated the Americans, a devastating blow to their hopes of advancing further, it showed the promise of improvement in a team that entered the 2022 World Cup second-youngest with an average age of 25.2. .

After the defeat, five players came out onto the field, talked to each other, sat in a circle on the grass and prayed together to enjoy the Qatari nights for the last time.

(Left to right) DeAndre Yedlin, Tim Weah, Tyler Adams and Aaron Long walk the field after losing

The USMNT fell in the round of 16 against the Netherlands by a score of 3-1 that saw multiple defensive errors

Winger Timothy Weah, right-back DeAndre Yedlin, centre-back Aaron Long and midfielder and captain Tyler Adams were seen walking onto the pitch together after matches had finished, talking amongst themselves as they did so.

Later, substitute goalkeeper Sean Johnson joined them and sat in the circle with them.

Cameras then caught Johnson, Long, Weah and Yedlin standing together and praying together.

After his ritual, Yedlin spoke to FOX Sports and explained that the ‘grounding’ sessions put the loss into perspective.

“We were putting things in perspective and reflecting on the journey and just giving thanks, you know, to the Earth,” said Yedlin, who played sparingly despite being the only player on the roster with previous World Cup experience. .

Later, Sean Johnson (25) joined Yedlin (left) and Weah (right) to sit court after the game.

USA struggled to score goals throughout the tournament, and Saturday was no different

“It just helps put perspective on life, good or bad. it’s something i have [been doing for awhile]. We presented it to the team and the guys liked it.

‘So, we’re just trying to keep it going. Especially at a time like this, where it can be hard to put life in perspective and realize that it’s not the beginning and the end.

I have learned to put things in perspective better than when I was younger. It hurts, and it hurts a lot of the guys, but I think it’s important that we realize that we still have our families.

‘The guys who have children, we still have our children. We are still sons, brothers, uncles, whatever. And that is the most important thing in life.

Players will have more time to reflect on the return flight after their World Cup exit.

After entering the knockout stages as the only team not to concede a goal in open play, the United States allowed the Dutch to score three beyond their net with the main culprits being the players who missed the open Dutch players.

Even though the end of the road will come sooner than the USMNT expected, it could be a sign that this group could do better in 2026.

“I think it’s a step forward,” Yedlin said. “I believe that things happen for a reason. You look at 2018, this group got together [after missing the tournament]. Then this happens and people wonder why it happened like this, or what will come in the future. I’m sure at some point it will all make sense.