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World Cup
The United States exited the 2026 FIFA World Cup after falling to Belgium in the knockout rounds, but the real debates are about Folarin Balogun's controversial return, Mauricio Pochettino's cultural overhaul, and whether this squad can close the gap on elite opposition.
The United States men's national team came into the 2026 FIFA World Cup with genuine ambitions. They got past the group stage, which was the stated goal, and then they ran straight into Belgium, a side with more quality, more poise, and more knockout-round know-how. That is where the dream ended. But the conversation about what this tournament meant for the programme is only just getting started.
Ante Razov, the former USMNT forward and Chicago Fire's all-time leading scorer, offered a measured but honest assessment. The USA did what they set out to do by escaping the group, but the Belgium defeat exposed something the American fanbase does not always want to hear: there is still a gap between this team and the genuine contenders. The errors that top sides punish were there, and Belgium duly punished them.
Mauricio Pochettino brought a pedigree and a mentality that American football has rarely experienced at international level. Razov pointed to the cultural shift the Argentine has tried to install, stressing that the importance of every single match, not just the big occasions, is a lesson this squad needs to absorb.
The question now is whether Pochettino can close that gap in mentality and execution before the next major tournament cycle. His track record with Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain suggests he knows how to develop squads, but the international calendar offers far fewer opportunities to drill those lessons home. Minimising errors at the highest level of competition is not a switch you flick; it is a process. And the USMNT is very much still in that process.
Perhaps the most polarising subplot of the USA's World Cup run was Folarin Balogun's return to the squad. After FIFA lifted his one-match suspension, Balogun was cleared to feature against Belgium, and the decision to include him reignited a debate that had been simmering throughout the tournament.
Razov expressed cautious optimism about Balogun's ceiling as the lead striker for the national team. The talent is evident. The question, as always with Balogun, is consistency and the ecosystem around him. As Razov noted, no striker thrives in isolation. The service, the system, the support play: all of it has to click. If the USA want to build around Balogun as their number nine for the foreseeable future, the conversation cannot just be about what he does with the ball. It has to be about what everyone else does to get it to him.
This is the question that keeps American football analysts up at night. Razov, who knows the position as well as anyone in the country's footballing history, acknowledged the evolving nature of the striker role. The modern number nine is asked to press, link play, and create as much as finish. Finding (or developing) a player who can do all of that at the very highest level remains the USA's biggest challenge.
The pathways matter too. Razov stressed that American strikers need to develop in competitive environments where the margin for error is razor-thin. MLS has grown enormously, but whether it consistently provides the kind of crucible that forges elite forwards is a fair and uncomfortable question.
Away from the World Cup, Razov also weighed in on one of the biggest MLS transfer stories of the summer: Robert Lewandowski's move to the Chicago Fire. For a club that has struggled for relevance in recent years, landing one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of European football is a seismic statement.
There is a practical angle too. Chicago boasts one of the largest Polish communities in the world, and Lewandowski's arrival taps into a cultural connection that could transform the Fire's fanbase and matchday atmosphere. But Razov was clear-eyed about the bigger picture. Signing established stars is one thing; building a sustainable model that develops players and competes consistently is another. MLS has to do both if it wants to be taken seriously as a league that produces talent, not just attracts it at the tail end of careers.
Razov reflected on how far the league has come since his playing days, but also on how far it still has to go. The comparison to top European leagues is inevitable, and while MLS has closed the gap in certain areas (infrastructure, commercial revenue, global visibility), the on-pitch product and player development pipeline still need work.
The World Cup spotlight only intensifies those conversations. Every American player who impresses on the world stage raises the question: where did they develop, and could they have developed better? Every player who falls short raises the same question from the opposite direction.
For bettors and fans alike, the takeaway from this World Cup is clear. The USA are progressing, but they are not there yet. Belgium proved that. Pochettino's project needs time, Balogun needs the right platform, and MLS needs to keep evolving. The next chapter will be fascinating to watch.
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Christopher
