SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The World Cup's round of 16 wraps up today. And with the U.S. men's loss to Belgium last night, there will be no more matches for this year's squad. But what a ride it was - highs, lows, scandals, everything. To wrap up the U.S. team's journey through the tournament, we turn now to NPR's Becky Sullivan, who has been there for all of it. Hey, Becky.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hey there, Scott.
DETROW: You've had a little less than 24 hours to think about all of this. I don't know if that's enough time, but...
SULLIVAN: (Laughter).
DETROW: ...How are you looking back at this run?
SULLIVAN: You know, I - it's hard to say because the rest of the tournament before this week and before last night was so positive, and then it was just such a disappointment last night. And I think what was so deflating about it - it's not that they went out in the round of 16, but it's the way that they went out. Their opponent was Belgium, of course - the first team that they had faced in this World Cup that was ranked in the top 20 in the world by FIFA. And the Americans were just outclassed from the first minute they stepped foot on the field, it seemed. Belgium just scored so effortlessly. I mean, it was honestly downright embarrassing for the U.S. So a little hard to know what to make of it, given the other positives.
DETROW: Yeah. Where do you think the U.S. fell short?
SULLIVAN: You know, it's hard to say. There was this idea, I think, coming into this World Cup that the talent of the American players was finally, for the first time, maybe on the level of - definitely not England or France or anything just, like, not yet but exactly this kind of sort of second-tier European squad like Belgium, that these were guys on the American squad who had come up through European-style academy systems. Most of the starters have key roles on teams in Europe big leagues, meaning that every week they're playing against top-level world-class talent. But it's hard not to feel like after last night's loss that they're in exactly the same place that they started from four years ago.
I also think this weekend's red card controversy with President Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino dented the vibe a little bit. It certainly provided some extra inspiration for Belgium. And so, yeah, just a bummer of a way to end this for so many fans who had been so energized for weeks.
DETROW: Right. Let's say, though, that last night it had been a close competitive loss - right? - and...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
DETROW: ...They're still out of the tournament. What would the positive parts of this run be, you know, up until the moment it really turned south yesterday?
SULLIVAN: (Laughter) Yeah. I mean, I think the biggest unequivocal positive has been the way that this team energized fans, filling up these stadiums. I mean, I just went to five of these USA games with stadiums packed with, like, sixty-seven, sixty-eight thousand people. What a summer for the World Cup it's been here. I mean, Scott, have you ever heard so many people talking about the U.S. men's national soccer team? These...
DETROW: Cannot say I have.
SULLIVAN: These guys have been just, like - they've just been asked over and over and over again about how meaningful this was, how important the opportunity was to build the sport here in America. And so I think that's what made last night a little tough too. Here's midfielder Tyler Adams talking about that.
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TYLER ADAMS: I think that was the goal - was to obviously inspire people that the support was growing in the U.S., which I think we saw. I mean, the support was unbelievable. I think our initial reaction as a team was that in this moment we let them down.
SULLIVAN: Now, I will say I think it's too early to judge the full extent of the impact this summer has had. Like, maybe a 7-year-old who watched midfielder Malik Tillman hit these two amazing free-kick goals over these past couple games, maybe that kid's now going to grow up and be practicing them, and he'll turn into a star for the team in, like, the 2040s. I don't know. But I will say that already, I do think that, like, for longtime soccer diehards, for reporters who've been covering the sport in this country for decades, to see how far things have come - that the stadiums are full watching the teams, that people are wearing the jerseys on the streets - I think that was incredible for all of them to see.
DETROW: So maybe closer than this theoretical 2046 run (laughter). What do you think comes next in the short term for the team?
SULLIVAN: I think the biggest question in the short term is what to do with coach Mauricio Pochettino, who is this Argentinian sort of hotshot, big-name coach they brought in, and certainly, I think, made a huge impression on players and teams. U.S. Soccer has offered him an extension. They said in a statement that the talks are still ongoing now that the World Cup run is done, but we will have to wait to see.
DETROW: NPR's Becky Sullivan, thanks so much.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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