World Cup: USMNT’s dream has died once again but this isn’t the end of the road

The American dream had not come true once again and Christian Pulisic could not contain his emotions, pulling his shirt and hiding his face.

The ambition of this young and energetic American team was to emulate, and possibly better, the class of 2002, which had reached the quarterfinals in Japan and South Korea. If Pulisic had kept his cool in the second minute, they might as well have.

Every second, every touch, every pass and every shot counts in a World Cup. A stutter, a hesitation and it all falls apart, especially when the pressure is as intense as in the ‘win or go home’ games that follow the group stage.

Christian Pulisic missed a great opportunity in the first minutes of America’s defeat against the Netherlands

Pulisic was the hero against Iran, but the enigmatic forward could not repeat his heroics

Pulisic, Chelsea’s enigmatic striker, had a glorious opportunity to shape the narrative in favor of the United States in the second minute, when he found himself alone in the Netherlands penalty area. A clean hit and it would have given his team the advantage.

He had been the hero of the hour against Iran, scoring the goal that allowed his team to qualify with England from Group B, but Pulisic was unable to repeat the feat, his shot misfiring and Heerenveen goalkeeper Andries Noppert kicking out his left leg . save money. It was a great moment.

You could tell he was on his mind when the final whistle blew, when he began to shake. Pulisic, whose season at Stamford Bridge has been marked by inconsistency, opened up about it a couple of hours later. Being asked to revisit the scene of a trauma was obviously painful.

Gio Reyna will be among the stars to peak when the 2026 World Cup rolls around

Brenden Aaronson confronts Jurrien Timber during the round of 16 match in Doha, Qatar

“It hurts,” Pulisic sighed. ‘I thought I was offside when it happened. He made a good save, so of course it’s going to hurt for a while. We don’t want to feel like this again. It was an honor to represent our country but, right now, it’s difficult.’

Even more descriptive was Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner, who said: “We did something that wasn’t like us.” The silence in the locker room is deafening. The mood is gloomy. Playing a game of this nature and losing doesn’t make anyone feel better.

However, this is not the end of the road for Gregg Berhalter’s side by any means and it will be fascinating to see how, when they co-host in the summer of 2026, this group progress as they are just one big striker away. to be a good side.

Matt Turner (left) was honest in his post-match assessment, admitting the mood was “bleak”

It is not yet clear if Gregg Berhalter will continue to lead the US national team.

When they played England, Gareth Southgate’s team were taken aback by how much the USA ran and how intense it was; they have some excellent talent, such as Leeds pairing Brenden Aaronsen and Tyler Adams, to accompany Borussia Dortmund’s Pulisic and Gio Reyna.

A 3-1 loss to the Netherlands ends this trip in the Middle East, but you wouldn’t be in a hurry to see them off in four years.

Put another way, the last time they hosted the World Cup in 1994, the United States won one of their four games. This team will do better.

“It’s another experience for all these guys,” Pulisic said. “We didn’t qualify for the last World Cup and here we are in the round of 16. Surely there are moments we can be really proud of. We don’t want to feel like this again and we want to put ourselves in a position to win tournaments like this.”