BEST OF THE HERD – USA Gets CRUSHED By Belgium, Pulisic Disappoints, Lionel Messi Continues To Dominate
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What led to the USA's 4-1 loss against Belgium?
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Thanks for listening to the Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the Heard at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Heard Podcast. Oh, it's the day after. Sigh. The World Cup still going strong. We're not part of it. Mauricio Pochettino. That's the hand he was dealt. A weak back line. It's Chicago. It's the herd. Let's talk. Here's where all sports are the same. Men's and women. The further you go in the playoffs... The more your flaws are exposed against better teams. NFL, NBA, March Madness. We knew going in, Matt Freeze, the goalkeeper, was our weakest ever.
Tim Howard played 13 years in the English Premier League. Brad Friedel, 16 years in the EPL. Casey Keller, 13 years in top European leagues. Matt Fries is an MLS goalie and looked the part. Sorry, but it's true. He gave up one embarrassing goal and another one here, Tim Rehm at 38. Again, we were concerned about athleticism and age, was physically overwhelmed.
How has Christian Pulisic's performance affected expectations?
We saw it against Germany in the friendly. Our defense, when exposed to elite playmakers and strikers, was shockingly overwhelmed. When pressure was applied last night, we folded like wet cardboard. And against Germany in the friendly and against Belgium, it was 90 seconds in. Belgium had so much space, never rushed, so much time, right out of the chute. Paraguay, Australia, Bosnia didn't have dynamic enough playmakers to expose us. But Belgium's front five, several of those players are top guys in the top European leagues. They didn't even start two of their more talented guys. So they were ranked eighth coming in FIFA rankings. We were 17th. It felt worse than that. Belgium was passing, moving through our defensive formations with ease.
It had a practice feel. Again, they were never rushed. Initially, Stu Holden said, it's nervy. I bought that for about four minutes. But it was in Seattle. These guys have played in European leagues. Let's be honest. There was a next level technical skill for Belgium and against our weak back end, which we all knew was our weakness. It was exposed. I mean, the 50-50 balls. Did we win 15% of those? I mean, I'm being totally honest. We got timid, cautious. Pulisic just bailed. He would get out of the play very quickly. We got frantic. We were overwhelmed. And Pulisic, let's be honest, he's helped get us to this level.
What insights does Brad Friedel provide on USA's goalkeeping?
He is a very good playmaker. But health now is a real thing. He was hurt during his club years. He has now four of the last nine World Cup games. He's missed with an injury or left early. It is a real problem. In a tournament where great players, Messi. You look around. Look around. What we're seeing from England. Jude Bellingham. They're rising. They're elevating. And Pulisic looked pedestrian. Last night against Belgium's top players, he was just a guy. Again, they're ranked 8th. We're 17th. I do believe if... Tim Howard was in goal, we would have lost 2-1. We would have been outclassed, outpossessed, outcornered. I don't doubt that. I'm not delusional. But a couple of those goals, we just generally, historically, are so good in goal, we don't give those up.
And you can go back to Tony Maoli, Casey Keller, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard. Pulisic, it's just become a trend now in the World Cup. He's not 100%. It had a big brother taking on a little brother in the driveway feel. It's not the end. There are things to put your arms around. But here was Tyler Adams afterwards.
What weaknesses were exposed in the USA's defense against Belgium?
I think football can be cruel sometimes. Let's not get it twisted. I think the better team won today. I don't think our performance was great overall. That being said, I don't think we can take away what we accomplished in the rest of the tournament and the type of football that we were playing and trying to play. I think tonight the goals that we conceded were too easy. When you give good players the opportunity to score goals, they're going to score goals.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What led to the USA's 4-1 loss against Belgium?
0:00–1:33
2
How has Christian Pulisic's performance affected expectations?
1:33–3:17
3
What insights does Brad Friedel provide on USA's goalkeeping?
3:17–4:42
4
What weaknesses were exposed in the USA's defense against Belgium?
4:42–6:26
5
How does the USA's soccer infrastructure compare to top European leagues?
6:26–7:52
6
What are the implications of Pulisic's injuries for the USA team?
7:52–9:34
7
What lessons can the USA learn from their World Cup performance?
9:34–11:36
8
How does the future look for USA soccer after this World Cup?
11:36–1:01:48
Speakers
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