The USMNT’s World Cup dream didn’t end with a heartbreak. It ended with a thud.

With Folarin Balogun back in the lineup and the home crowd at Lumen Field ready to explode, the United States men’s national team had a chance to make a real statement against Belgium in the round of 16. Instead, Belgium made the statement for them, hammering the Americans 4-1 and sending the U.S. home at a painfully familiar stage.

For the fourth time in five World Cups, the United States bowed out in the round of 16. The lone exception, of course, was 2018, when the Americans didn’t even qualify.

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This one felt especially rough because the buildup had been so loud. The U.S. had looked dangerous in the group stage. Balogun had been one of the breakout stars of the tournament with three goals and another forced own goal. Malik Tillman had provided big moments. The Americans had survived a gritty round-of-32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina despite playing down a man after Balogun’s controversial red card.

Then came Belgium, and all that momentum disappeared fast.

Charles De Ketelaere was the nightmare the U.S. couldn’t solve. He scored twice, both times punishing soft defending and poor positioning in the American back line. Leandro Trossard repeatedly found space down Belgium’s left side, and Sergiño Dest struggled so badly on the right that Mauricio Pochettino pulled him at halftime.

The first Belgium goal arrived early and punched the energy out of the building. Nicolas Raskin reacted quicker than the U.S. defenders near the box and redirected the ball toward De Ketelaere, who slipped between Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson to finish from close range.

The U.S. briefly found life when Tillman’s free kick took a wild deflection and found the net, tying the match and giving the crowd a reason to believe again. That belief lasted less than a minute.

Just 52 seconds after the equalizer, Belgium struck again. Trossard created the danger, the cross came in clean, and De Ketelaere beat the American defense once more with a header that sucked the air right back out of Seattle.

From there, the U.S. looked rattled, rushed and strangely disconnected.

Christian Pulisic, playing through injury, never found his rhythm. He turned the ball over 11 times in the first half alone and couldn’t give the Americans the attacking spark they desperately needed. Balogun, after dominating headlines all week, never truly threatened Belgium’s back line. Tyler Adams and the U.S. midfield spent too much of the night chasing instead of controlling.

Then came the mistake that ended any remaining suspense.

Goalkeeper Matt Freese came charging outside his box to deal with a ball over the top, but his clearance attempt deflected straight to Hans Vanaken. The Belgian midfielder calmly sent the ball back toward the empty net from distance as Ream scrambled helplessly to recover. It was ugly, costly and completely symbolic of the night.

Romelu Lukaku added one more in stoppage time after another U.S. giveaway, turning a bad loss into a brutal one.

Pochettino called it a “very bad day,” and there’s no cleaner way to dress it up. The Americans weren’t sharp enough, brave enough or composed enough in the biggest match of their tournament.

Belgium didn’t just beat the USMNT. Belgium exposed them.

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For a team that spent the past month teasing something bigger, this was a cruel landing. The U.S. had the star power, the home crowd, the comeback story and Balogun back up front.

What it didn’t have was the performance.

And once again, the World Cup round of 16 became the place where American optimism went to die.