The U.S. Men's National Team got bounced from its own World Cup in a 4-1 thrashing by Belgium — and the Belgians celebrated their fourth goal by doing the Trump dance on American soil, a savage mock aimed directly at the president who lobbied FIFA to help the U.S. squad.
This is what a home World Cup amounts to when the program talks about vibes instead of results. The U.S. hosted the tournament for the first time in over thirty years, and it couldn't survive the Round of 16. Ordinary Americans who tuned in hoping to see their country compete got a lesson in what happens when energy crystals replace execution.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino, hired after a humiliating 2024 Copa America exit, kept lemons in his office to absorb negative energy and painted "Why not U.S.?" on his wall. According to the New Yorker, Pochettino's philosophy hinges on reading "auras" and channeling "universal energy." His six-million-dollar salary was subsidized by hedge-fund managers Scott Goodwin and Ken Griffin. The vibes were, by all insider accounts, immaculate. The scoreboard was not.
The match turned on a pre-game controversy. U.S. forward Folarin Balogun received a red card in the Bosnia and Herzegovina match. FIFA then suspended his suspension for a probationary year, making him available against Belgium — after President Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request a review. "All I did was ask for a review. I didn't say, 'You have to do this,'" Trump said, according to the Daily Caller. The Belgian FA was "astonished" by the decision and said it was investigating its options.
Belgium settled the argument on the pitch. After going up 4-1, Belgian players performed Trump's signature dance move — a troll directed at both the U.S. team and the president who intervened on its behalf. The Daily Caller reported that former U.S. star Carli Lloyd had harsh words for the team and for Christian Pulisic following the defeat.
The New Yorker framed the loss as a story of cosmic energy running out and underdog dreams falling short. It buried the 4-1 scoreline beneath paragraphs about lemons and mantras. The Daily Caller led with the humiliation and the mockery, making clear that the Belgian troll was made possible by Trump's own intervention backfiring.
The U.S. program spent big on a coach who believes in auras, got a presidential assist on a red-card review, and still lost by three goals at home. The Belgians didn't just win — they danced on the way out. The question for American soccer isn't why the energy was wrong. It's whether anyone running the program cares about anything real.
