USA Dealt With A Familiar Feeling In Its Latest World Cup Eliminating Loss

Even as it played a World Cup on home soil, the round of 16 remains a major hurdle for the U.S. men's soccer team — and former USA player Stu Holden can't help but feel underwhelmed following its most recent shortcoming. 

As the USA was outclassed by Belgium 4-1 on Monday, Holden was blunt in sharing his disappointment with the team's performance.

"It's a familiar feeling. We've been here before. I think that's the most disheartening part of this because we get wrapped up in the moment," Holden said on FOX Sports' "World Cup Now." 

"We become big fans of this team, the way they played, their personalities, their stories. We've seen a lot of these guys come up through MLS academies. There's a lot of good players out there, and we want so much more for them. I wanted nothing more for these guys than to win."

Even though Belgium dominated the USA in the round of 16, there were plenty of reasons to feel differently about this American squad than some of the others that have reached the round of 16 in recent World Cups. 

USA won three of its four matches, which was the most it had ever won in a single World Cup. In the one loss for the United States, it largely played its backups in a match that didn't count for anything in the final group standings.

The American squad also proved they could play through adversity. In the round of 32, the USA doubled its lead over Bosnia and Herzegovina after star forward Folarin Balogun received a red card.

But even with all that momentum, the USA fell flat on its face on Monday. Three of the four goals it allowed came after it turned over the ball in its own lower third. The second of those three showed a clear sign of tentativeness from the American squad, with goalkeeper Matt Freese