Seattle — Decked in a full-on red, white, and blue outfit and donning a faux wig with stars and stripes hair, covered head-to-toe in patriotism, a US soccer fan skipped down Stadium Place Street just outside of Lumen Field, declaring at full volume, “Our spirits are winners!”
This was a full two hours after the team she unabashedly supports, the US men’s national team (USMNT), suffered a resounding 4-1 loss to a Belgium side that had an axe to grind with the American squad and FIFA.
She wasn’t alone in singing about how the last three and a half weeks had, even in defeat, brought her joy.
There was a remarkable number of United States fans leaving the Round of 16 site not with their heads down but rather held up high, with many continuing to bellow the familiar “U-S-A!” chant heard at every USMNT match.
The team’s defensive midfielder, Tyler Adams, who ran out for 72 minutes on Monday and featured in four of the five games the US played in this tournament, was stoic after the setback, telling CNN Sports’ Coy Wire: “I think that was the goal was to inspire people.”
“I mean, the support was unbelievable. I think our initial reaction as a team was that, in this moment, we let them down, but I think altogether, people gravitated towards the team because we were relatable, we represented exactly what the US was.”
The United States and this squad mirrored the melting pot of diverse ethnicities and cultures that the country embodies. And despite the unceremonious exit from this World Cup, the 26 players can take with them the memory of how they inspired a country to dare to believe that a quarterfinal run – or maybe even a step or two further – was possible.
“I think more than anything else, it’s brought the nation together, not just the nation, but the world, and having so many different people out here,” a fan holding two US flags told CNN Sports. “For me, actually being proud to be an American for the first time in a while.”
Captain Tim Ream entered the media area after the defeat, a shell of a man who had spent the previous days proudly leading the team throughout this tournament, playing in four US matches at this World Cup.
“There are boys and girls who were watching and being inspired, and [they] should be – how incredible this journey has been with this group,” Ream said.
Just this past Friday, he appeared to be living his best life, grinning ear-to-ear as he watched his Argentine head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, throw out a ceremonial first pitch at the Seattle Mariners game. The manager had been receiving his flowers as of late – winning will do that. His three World Cup victories are the most of any US men’s head coach.
Pochettino, who previously said he was “200% Argentine,” has gotten caught up in the overflowing positivity that emerged from the team winning two of three group games and a knockout fixture that set the stage for the Round of 16 match here in Seattle.
The coach has become somewhat famous for his motivational speeches and catchphrases that showed how the South American was assimilating into the US spirit.
During a 2025 friendly against Australia, Pochettino – disappointed in the US fight – laid into his players at halftime, “We’re American and we don’t take sh*t!”
But he wasn’t just asking for the fight; he was instilling the belief that the team could “touch the moon” by going further than any other US team had at a World Cup.
He didn’t shy away from the prospect of winning it all when he revealed the 26-man squad in May. “We are always talking to the players. Why not us? I think it’s really important to believe.”
And after the team he led was thoroughly outplayed at Lumen Field Monday night, Pochettino remained upbeat.
“I feel very proud. It was an amazing journey together and we make proud the whole country,” he told host broadcaster Fox after his team had looked second best throughout. “And that is only the beginning.”
Soon, it will be known if the 54-year-old continues to lead the USMNT as his contract is set to expire after the World Cup comes to a close.
Before the thrashing by a ninth-ranked Belgium side that is now undefeated in its last 18 matches combined, moods were lighter with players and staff relaxing with puppies and dogs at the team’s University of Washington training site.
America’s team, America’s Dawg. pic.twitter.com/6TInLVDx6b
— Washington Athletics (@UWAthletics) July 5, 2026
This is where Ream acknowledged just how unique this journey had been – to represent a home World Cup at a time when the county was celebrating July 4 and its 250th anniversary.
“Obviously, it’s doubly special because it’s during the World Cup and triple special because it’s here in the US,” Ream said on Friday. “We’ve said this as a group with all our different backgrounds, where we all have grown up, it’s a true representation of what America is.
“It’s a melting pot of people, of personalities, of characters, and like I said, it’s a perfect representation of what the US is and what it’s about.”
The disappointment of how it all ended shouldn’t overshadow the moments of joy this team produced, bringing people together in ways they maybe hadn’t before and reinvigorating an American fan base eager to witness a quarterfinal or more on the world’s biggest stage. But Americans, like every other nation, want to win and the future, though it seems bright, is still unclear.
“It’s tough to judge right now the overall tournament, obviously, after a loss,” Adams said. “But I think overall there were positives that we’re going to take away from it.”