USA vs Belgium: A Momentum Killer for Stars and Stripes?
by Bradley Gibbs | by Bradley Gibbs
Hosts in strong form
Not that long ago, it looked as if the US, under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino, would sleepwalk their way into the 2026 World Cup, which promises to be a gigantic affair, perhaps the biggest soccer event the world has ever seen.
Prior to September’s friendly against the Japanese, the Stars and Stripes had lost two on the bounce, coming up short against Mexico in the final of the Gold Cup, before losing by two goals to zero on home soil against South Korea, an effort that did not point towards a team that is ready to rock the World Cup.
Fortunately, since that rather disappointing effort against the South Koreans, the men tasked with delivering the goods for the US on the biggest soccer stage of all have woken up, going five games unbeaten, four of which they’ve won.
Less fortunately, as mentioned in my USA vs Belgium pick, their next task looks like a tricky one, a task that the hosts may not have all the tools to complete.
Sure, they're in form and likely as confident as they've ever been under their Argentine coach, but I’m not going to rush to assume that the US will continue moving forwards just because they’ve picked up some positive results in recent times. They’re up against a Belgian team that is stacked with top-tier offensive talent, and we’re now going to see what Pochettino’s men are really made of.
USA vs Belgium key details
This game brings about another change of scenery for the Stars and Stripes, who last took to the field in Tampa, Florida, where they got the better of Uruguay in impressive fashion.
After Florida, it’s off to Atlanta, Georgia, where Pochettino’s troops will do battle at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here are the USA vs Belgium key details:
Date: Saturday, March 28th
Kick off time: 15:30 EST
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Where to watch: TNT and HBO Max
Poch has all the pieces, but can he complete the puzzle?
Ahead of both this game and the upcoming friendly against Portugal, Mauricio Pochettino, who will be leading a team at the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever in just a few months, has named a 27-man squad, and on paper, it’s just about the strongest squad that US soccer has to offer.
One significant absentee is EPL midfielder Tyler Adams, who will almost certainly be included in the World Cup squad. The Bournemouth midfielder recently recovered from a hefty injury and is thus being given ample time to regain complete fitness.
Diego Luna is perhaps the only other notable player to miss out. Real Salt Lake’s key man had regularly played for the Stars and Stripes in recent times, but he too has been nursing an injury of late.
With all other top players fit, including the likes of Max Arfsten, Johnny Cardoso, Tanner Tessmann, Malik Tillman, Brenden Aaronson, Folarin Balogun and Christian Pulisic, Pochettino can field a team made up almost entirely of players playing in the world’s best soccer leagues, but the question is can he fit the right pieces into the right places? The next two games will certainly go some way towards answering that question.
Doku to do some damage
The USMNT’s bubble could very easily be burst by a hugely capable Belgian team, and even if it’s not, this will almost certainly be the toughest defensive test that the Stars and Stripes have encountered in a while.
Looking at the early odds from our top sportsbooks, I can’t look beyond the deadly Doku in the ‘Anytime Scorer’ market. Odds of +360, which are available at DraftKings, look a little too generous.
At domestic level, the 23-year-old speedster hasn’t scored for Manchester City for a while, but he looked rather lively in recent games against both Arsenal and Real Madrid, so I really wouldn’t be surprised if he now thrives against what is clearly a lesser defensive unit.
What’s more, Doku was in hot form for Belgium during the recently completed World Cup qualifiers, scoring no less than five goals, averaging an impressive 0.70 goals per 90 minutes.
USA vs Belgium Player Prop: Jeremy Doku to Score.
