Opposition scouting: Former USMNT boss Bruce Arena breaks down Belgium - ESPN

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The U.S. men's national team has been riding a wave of euphoria practically from the moment the FIFA World Cup started. The team has already set numerous records in terms of the program's history, winning three World Cup matches in a single tournament for the first time, and its 10 goals is also a record.

Now the USMNT will try to get greedy and claim a win over a Belgium side that, heading into the tournament, was ranked No. 9 in the world. The problem for the Red Devils is that they've looked nothing like a team ranked in the top 10, and it took an otherworldly comeback against Senegal — with two goals in the final five minutes of regulation — to get the game to extra time, where they ultimately prevailed to move on to the round of 16.

For this scouting report of the two teams, ESPN turned to former U.S. men's national team manager Bruce Arena to give some insights on both sides and provide a sense of how the game will shake out.

So far, Arena hasn't been impressed with the level of opposition thrown at the U.S. Though FIFA rankings have their limitations, the Americans' ranking of 17th is higher than each of their four opponents so far.

«There's some quality players playing for Belgium from the goal [and going] forward,» Arena told reporters Thursday. «So we haven't played many teams that you could look up their first 11, and think they're better than us. I don't think a player in the starting 11 for Bosnia-Herzegovina could break into our starting 11. That's not the case against Belgium. Belgium will have a half a dozen players of equal caliber or greater. So it's going to be a real game. It'll be interesting to see.»

Belgium's advantage starts in goal with Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois, and goes