{"id":1466294,"date":"2026-07-05T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&p=1466294"},"modified":"2026-07-05T01:53:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T00:53:36","slug":"tactical-analysis-usa-midfield-vs-belgium","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/tactical-analysis-usa-midfield-vs-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"USMNT analysis: Pochettino’s midfield is primed to run Belgium down in World Cup Ro16 clash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The United States Men’s National Team<\/a>‘s latest World Cup<\/a> test comes as they take on Belgium<\/a> in Seattle<\/strong> in the early hours of Tuesday morning (UK time).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have excelled as co-hosts so far, beating Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 having topped Group D — their only defeat 3-2 against Turkey in a match where they’d already qualified and heavily rotated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, however, they will face a much sterner test as they come up against Belgium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the Red Devils’ golden generation has all but faded away, with the last remnants — Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Thomas Meunier — coming towards the end of their careers. However, they’ve repeatedly shown at this tournament that they can grind out results despite poor performances.<\/p>\n\n\n

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