USA vs. Belgium: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Belgium easily dispatched the United States, 4-2, in a friendly Wednesday night in Cleveland, Ohio.

This was going to be a great test for the United States. Belgium is one of the better young teams in Europe. Considering Marc Wilmots chose a mostly first-team, this wasn't going to be a walkover for the Americans.

Belgium wasted little time in making it clear they were taking this match seriously.

In the sixth minute, a through ball was sent in for Romelu Lukaku. Tim Howard made the decision to come off his line and deny Lukaku a chance to shoot. The rebound fell to Kevin Mirallas, who neatly chipped Howard for the first goal of the match.

It was a terrible bit of defending from Omar Gonzalez and Geoff Cameron. They both gave up on the play, thinking Lukaku was offside. To make matters worse, neither reacted quickly enough clear the ball away and thwart Mirallas. Howard did everything he could, but he was absolutely helpless.

Leander Schaerlaeckens of Fox Soccer broke down the defensive breakdown:

Cameron redeemed himself in the 23rd minute. It was a very well-played corner as Graham Zusi knocked it long to Clint Dempsey. Dempsey made the right move in heading the ball across goal, where Cameron put it away. It was his first goal ever for the U.S. national team.

Gonzalez once again found himself the goat on a Begium goal. He went to try and clear out a ball that was headed for Christian Benteke. Rather than simply launch the ball into the stands, Gonzalez decided to put the ball on the pitch and had a very heavy first touch. The ball fell to Kevin De Bruyne, who delivered a nice pass for Benteke. He had a rather easy finish, leaving Brad Guzan with no chance.

As much as Gonzalez was to blame, Seth Vertelney of Goal.com wasn't letting Brad Davis off the hook:

From this point on, the match was pretty much all Belgium. They added a third goal in the 65th minute.

It was more poor defending from the United States. Guzan did well to save an effort from Lukaku and sent the ball out for a corner. De Bruyne delivered the corner, which the U.S. failed to get out of the attacking third. De Bruyne had a second chance for the cross and found Marouane Fellaini for the goal. The U.S. should have done much better to get the ball out. As strong a header as Fellaini is, somebody probably should have been marking him better as well.

ESPN's Roger Bennett chose to make light of the situation:

Deciding they weren't satisfied yet, Belgium got a fourth in the 70th minute. Steven Defour launched a nice long ball over the top to Benteke, who delivered a nice chip over Guzan. It was poor play in the U.S. midfield as nobody closed down on Defour, leaving him with plenty of time to pick out Benteke.

In situations like these, sometimes it is good to try and find the comedy, as Men in Blazers did:

The United States got a lifeline in the 79th minute. Eddie Johnson tried to cross the ball in from the left, but it was blocked by Toby Alderweireld. The ball did hit Alderweireld's arm, but it didn't look to be enough to warrant a penalty. The referee pointed to the spot anyway.

Clint Dempsey stepped up and slotted it away in the bottom left corner.

The best moment of the match came when Stu Holden entered the match in the 81st minute. Injuries have largely derailed his career, and it's a testament to Holden's drive that he has managed to earn another international cap.

ESPN's Paul Carr noted the last time Holden played in a national team match:

If this was indeed a test for the United States, they failed miserably. This loss demonstrates exactly how much further the U.S. needs to go in order to be competitive at the World Cup again.

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl summed up the match and situation for the United States pretty well:

If you were concerned about the United States, your fears were only increased after this match. The U.S. could qualify for the World Cup, but with a performance like that, the team won't make it past the group stage.

Grades

Omar Gonzalez, United States: D

Simply put, Omar Gonzalez was not good. As Taylor Twellman astutely pointed out during the broadcast, this is when you want to see Gonzalez struggle. Then he'll be much more prepared and ready for CONCACAF qualification.

Gonzalez is not a bad defender, so this may be nothing more than a bad day at the office. He was not alone in the U.S. back four, either, as it was generally a poor performance from the entire unit.

DaMarcus Beasley, United States: C+

That said about the defense, DaMarcus Beasley wasn't terrible. Any time you see him lined up at left-back, you cringe a little thinking about some of his spectacular failures at the position.

Beasley had a pretty good match, at least in comparison to his teammates. He showed good play when going against an attacker one on one.

Will Beasley be an option for the World Cup? Probably not. But with a performance like that—which was his 100th cap for the United States—Klinsmann can rely on Beasley in the right situations.

Romelu Lukaku, Belgium: A

It's a shame Lukaku didn't score because he was a colossus for much of the match. The striker put on a stellar all-around display. Lukaku was a constant threat to the American back line.

It was the kind of performance that demonstrated Lukaku's great combination of skill and size. He had the touch to beat defenders one on one and also had the strength to simply overpower when necessary.

Christian Benteke, Belgium: A+

What a luxury it is for Wilmots to bring on a striker like Benteke. He's been great for Aston Villa, and he carried that form over into this match.

Even for American fans, his second goal was a joy to watch for the technique involved. It wasn't as easy a finish as Benteke made it look. It will be interesting to see if Wilmots uses Lukaku and Benteke together going forward. That could be frightening combo for opposing teams.

United States Grades

Player	Grade
Tim Howard (off 46')	C+
Geoff Cameron	C-
Omar Gonzalez	D
Clarence Goodson (off 69')	C
DaMarcus Beasley	C+
Graham Zusi (off 69')	C
Jermaine Jones	C-
Sasha Kljestan (off 82')	C
Brad Davis (off 63')	D+
Clint Dempsey	C+
Jozy Altidore (off 46')	C
Substitutes
Brad Guzan	C-
Eddie Johnson	D+
Terrence Boyd	D
Matt Besler	C-
Brad Evans	C-
Stu Holden	INC

Belgium Grades

Player	Grade
Simon Mignolet	B
Toby Alderweireld	B
Vincent Kompany (off 72')	B
Thomas Vermaelen (off 36')	C-
Jan Vertonghen	B-
Marouane Fellaini	B+
Steven Defour (off 77')	B
Moussa Dembele (off 41')	C
Kevin Mirallas	B+
Kevin De Bruyne (off 68')	A-
Romelu Lukaku	A
Substitutes
Sebastian Pocognoli	C
Christian Beteke	A+
Dries Mertens	B-
Guillaume Gillet	C+
Timmy Simmons	C-

What's Next

The United States have another friendly coming up on Sunday with Germany. If they play anything like they did against Belgium, it's going to be a like 90 minutes for U.S. fans.

Belgium's next match is against Serbia on June 7 for UEFA World Cup qualification. The Belgians are tied with Croatia atop Group A after seven matches.