Analysis:After the hype, US World Cup dream collides with football reality

NEW YORK, July 7 : The soundtrack surrounding the United States’ World Cup on home soil was impossible to escape. Television adverts urged fans to believe in miracles. Marketing campaigns promised destiny. Every setback was framed as the prelude to a triumph. But after a 4-1 humbling by Belgium, all that talk of belief gave way to a simpler reality: the co-hosts were beaten by a better team.

The temptation after any major tournament exit is to search for the explanation that best fits the narrative. Did Donald Trump’s intervention over Folarin Balogun become an unwelcome distraction? Did the weight of expectation become too heavy? Did the relentless optimism create pressure that was impossible to fulfil?

But when the noise subsides, the evidence points somewhere rather less dramatic.

Sometimes, despite all the “Yes we can” rhetoric, the answer is simply: no, we can’t.

The live FIFA rankings had the United States 16th and Belgium eighth going into the knockout match. The team ranked 16th in the world reached the last 16 before losing heavily to the side ranked eighth. That is disappointing for the hosts, but not especially surprising. Strip away the advertising campaigns, the political drama and the emotion, and the outcome looks entirely consistent with the balance between the two teams.

The Americans had captured the nation's imagination by topping their group ahead of Australia, Paraguay and Turkey, and beating Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last-32 but, once the whistle blew on Monday, the gulf between them and Belgium quickly became apparent.

The political and disciplinary storm surrounding Balogun dominated the build-up after Trump urged FIFA to review his case, the governing body suspended the striker’s ban and Belgium’s