USA v Belgium

Pregame:

This game is in Atlanta.

I'm angry the way America has gone under the current regime, vigilanties murdering citizens, the disappearance of the middle class, but I still like the soccer team somehow. This is the biggest match so far in the run up to the World Cup, I'm excited. USA is ranked 15th and Belgium is 9th on the dubious FIFA ranking. I'm disgusted with the politics of FIFA as well. There's huge protests all over America today. 

Once USA are out, I'm rooting for Germany and Spain, two countries who understand the dangers of fascism. Italy did the best under fascism, so we could do well. 

Pulisic is going to find himself available to play after taking some time off from the team. Pulisic is the captain. I like the team, not just one player. I like Weston McKennie and many others.

USA's biggest moment in World Cup soccer is beating Mexico to get out of the round of 16, to the round of 8. There they lost to Germany. Bruce Arena was the coach then. Same guy who resigned instead of being fired from New England for "insensitive and inappropriate remarks."

USA also beat England in the miracle on grass in 1950 in Brazil. Still didn't make it out of the group stage.

Preview Links & quotes:

Stars and Stripes FC: "De Rode Duivels have a talented and creative team that looks to play solidly up the middle while giving wingbacks freedom to get forward. Especially important to the team is left back Maxim De Cuyper, his creativity and interplay with Jérémy Doku should make the American right side defenders wary throughout the match. Another advantage the team has is that is it very tall. Thomas Meunier is 6’ 3,” Zeno Debast stands at 6’ 2,” Amadou Onana is 6’ 5,“ and forward Charles De Ketelaere is 6’ 4.” This could obviously cause some issues on set pieces for the USA, not only in defending them but in finding ways to score also."

FotMob: "The USA will kick off their World Cup campaign against Paraguay on June 12, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Australia and either Turkiye or Kosovo will be their other Group D foes."

"The competition is high, and it's going to be tough to pick the right players for the final roster," Pochettino said ahead of the Belgium game."

CBS: "At first you think, no Belgium have to have faced a side who will try to bring the game to them this year, right? Right? But then, taking a look back, Belgium hasn't faced a side in the top 30 of FIFA rankings since 2024, when they played France and Italy in the UEFA Nations League."

"Pochettino suggested that these matches shouldn't be called friendlies and instead they should be called, "unofficial games" as when you're playing in a friendly, you're playing against friends, and that's very much not the case in Atlanta. These are two teams that want to win to show that they're ready for the World Cup around the corner."

Guardian: "On Friday, Pochettino cited the midfields of who he considers “the two best teams in the history of football”, Barcelona and Real Madrid, to illustrate the importance of his decision. Barcelona had Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andrés Iniesta. Real Madrid had Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić and Casemiro."

Guardian: “I think the motivation begins from the first day you meet someone,” he said. “It’s vital energy that you have within yourself, where you prepare your body, your mind, your being, so that you can enjoy what you’re doing … Words, a lot of the time, are empty. I can give you a motivational speech right here that’s incredible. But if I don’t create an emotional bond with you, it’s impossible that you’ll be motivated by my words … If it doesn’t affect you in your heart, it’s very hard.”

"I am here because I believe that we can win. I can tell people that I really believe that. Whether that happens or doesn’t happen, there are too many factors in the middle. But the most important piece is that we believe that we can perform and to compete and that we can earn what we want.”

ESPN: Chris Richards, Miles Robinson injuries leave USMNT shorthanded. Robinson injured his groin during training on Tuesday, according to Pochettino.

Fox In The Box (substack)

Lineup:

Game (3:30PM):

Post game:

Next game: Tuesday Portugal 7PM, then Senegal 5/31, and Germany 6/6. Then Paraguay on June 12 in the World Cup, Australia June 19th, and TBD (Turkiye or Kosovo) June 25th.