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That was rough. The USMNT got hit hard in a 5-2 loss to Belgium, and we went live immediately after the final whistle to make sense of it all. Is this the kind of loss that forces growth\u2014or proof that this team just isn\u2019t ready yet? We break down Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s tactics, decisions, and whether he got it completely wrong on the night. Then, USMNT legend Marcelo Balboa joins us to offer real insight into what failed on the pitch and what the team must fix before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n
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Belgium came to play, and one name stood above the rest: Dodi Lukebakio. With two goals and a dominant performance, he earns our Player of the Game honors. Meanwhile, we take a hard look at Pochettino\u2019s lineup choices, substitutions, and overall game management. Were the players set up to fail, or did individuals simply not rise to the occasion? We hand out grades and don\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n
As always, the chat had plenty to say\u2014and we bring the best (and wildest) fan reactions into the show. From frustration to full-on panic, the USMNT discourse is heating up. We wrap things up by turning the page to what\u2019s next: a massive test against Portugal. What needs to change, and can the U.S. bounce back? We\u2019ve got you covered.<\/p>\n
Timestamps: (1:55) \u2013 Recapping USMNT\u2019s brutal loss to Belgium<\/p>\n
(6:30) – Marcelo Balboa joins the Show<\/p>\n
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(17:15) \u2013 Player of the Game: Dodi Lukebakio<\/p>\n
(28:00) \u2013 Grading Mauricio Pochettino<\/p>\n
(40:00) – USMNT vs Portugal preview<\/p>\n
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USMNT 5-2 LOSS<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udda5\ufe0f Watch this full episode on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n Check out all episodes of The Cooligans<\/a> the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https:\/\/apple.co\/3zEuTQj<\/a> or at yahoosports.tv<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Subscribe to The Cooligans That was rough. The USMNT got hit hard in a 5-2 loss to Belgium,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,5421,6285,4525,335,4529],"class_list":{"0":"post-9216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belgium","8":"tag-belgium","9":"tag-dodi-lukebakio","10":"tag-marcelo-balboa","11":"tag-mauricio-pochettino","12":"tag-portugal","13":"tag-usmnt"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116310859038953237","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}