SEATTLE — The defining moment, the symbolic gesture, the enduring image, was a swing of the foot not between the lines at Lumen Field but outside them, just in front of the United States bench.
And not by a player but by a coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
With perfect technique and accuracy, he swung his foot into a water bottle holder, sending blue plastic canisters flying and water spilling.
It came after another Belgium goal against his porous back line, an act of frustration on a evening when his team either (take your pick) was dominated by a superior opponent, suddenly came crashing back to Earth in a hail of elementary mistakes or was the cruel victim of sports karma.
Even the controversial inclusion of leading scorer Folarin Balogun, who started and was only marginally effective, couldn’t save them.
The “Belgium 4, USA 1” on the scoreboard Monday in their World Cup round of 16 encounter was probably kind, just as it was 12 years ago when the Yanks lost 2-1 in an equally lopsided match against Belgium, also in the round of 16.
That steamy night in Brazil, goalkeeper Tim Howard made a record 16 saves to keep it close. In the long shadows of the Pacific Northwest, the Yanks were fortunate not to trail 5-1 at the half — and their lone goal came on a Malik Tillman free kick that deflected off a Belgian defender’s head into the net.
Jordan’s Adham Makhadmeh was the referee.
The U.S. were just meh.
So Belgium heads south to face Spain, a 1-0 winner against Portugal earlier in the day, in Friday’s noon quarterfinal at SoFi Stadium. The U.S. team that had a nation believing after three home wins against inferior opposition does what it typically does in a World Cup, and exits in the round of the 16.
The three co-hosts? All eliminated in the space of three days after surrendering a combined 10 goals.
Pochettino has been glazed all tournament for his strategic moves, but it was counterpart Rudi Garcia who was the chess master Monday night.
Garcia didn’t start Kevin de Bruyne, who not long ago was considered by some the best player on the planet. He didn’t start Romelu Lukaku, the national team’s all-time scorer with 92 goals. He didn’t start Jeremy Doku, the shifty Manchester City winger who torched the U.S. in a 5-2 friendly win in March.
Instead, he went with a younger, more tactically capable unit that could pass through the U.S. press and that could press itself, instead of sitting back and playing on the counter. A risky move, for sure. A winning move, too.
Instead, his starting striker was 25-year-old Charles De Ketelaere, who had six career goals for the Red Devils. When he was subbed out midway through the second half, he was up to eight.
He also had an assist on Belgium’s third goal, which, well, put it this way: If Matt Freese had been swinging at the water bottles, he would have missed.
Freese came out of his box to intercept a long ball, but that meant he could no longer use his hands and he is not, to put it politely, known for his foot skills. Freese swung at the ball and stubbed his boot in the grass.
That gave De Ketelaere, behind him, time to poke it away to teammate Hans Vanaken, who casually chipped the ball toward the open net from 30 yards.
Defender Tim Ream was in position to clear it but stumbled and wasn’t able to prevent what has to rank among the most embarrassing U.S. moments in World Cup history.
The camera cut to Pochettino on the bench. This time he was sitting, biting his fingernails, resigned to their fate.
That made it 3-1, and a few offensive subs — sending in forward Ricardo Pepi for defensive midfielder Tyler Adams — created some chances, but nothing that bulged the net.
Belgium did again, though, when Lukaku, a 69th minute sub, scored No. 93 in stoppage time.
The game might have been owed a few more minutes of stoppage time, but Makhadmeh mercifully blew his whistle and ended it.
The U.S. players lingered for a moment, wandering around the field in a daze.
Two weeks ago, the 69,000 in Lumen Field was serenading them with “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Now they were hitting the road