At Least Corruption Took an L

The World Cup run for the United States Men's National Team came to an end last night in a manner harsh for the players, but befitting the autocrat who tried to influence the game.

Before the game and the controversy that would overshadow it, the Americans were having a good tournament. The head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, had done a fine job of instilling a team identity and a strategy that both played to the strengths of the players at his disposal and entertained the spectator with vibrant, attacking play.

Pochettino's men won their group with a game to spare, and narrowly lost the third game, when he wisely chose to rest some players and give backups playing time. Then, they very comfortably beat Bosnia in their first elimination game.

I've been a long-suffering fan of this team for decades, and I can't recall us ever winning a World Cup game comfortably, let alone three.

This is measurable progress.

But there are levels to go before this country will be a serious contender for the World Cup: I had no illusions about this game. Belgium have one of the ten best national teams in the world and, despite their aging squad, this game, while winnable based on what the Americans showed so far, was never going to be easy, let alone a sure thing.

Then, infuriatingly, on the day or so before the game, Donald Trump felt the need to insert himself into the world championship of a game he knows nothing about, and get overturned the one-match ban forward Folarin Balogun was to serve for being ejected from the Bosnian game.

Yes, the ejection was a mistake. Yes, there ought to have been an appeals process for the ban. But, as with any sport, bad calls are part of the game, and the time for amending the rules is between competitions -- not in the middle of them.

Trump's meddling sets a very bad precedent in a sport whose governing body is already corrupt, and was a very unwelcome injection of politics into a realm most of us enjoy in part because it offers a respite from politics.

(I am old enough to remember conservatives lauding the book title Shut up and Sing. Changing whose politics pollutes the entertainment is not the answer anyone needed here.)

All that said, the American performance last night was mostly unfocused and error-prone, and if there is one thing an elite team will punish mercilessly, it is mistakes.

Ahead of the game, I commented:

Before: If the US lost today, we'd have wondered what might have been absent [Balogun's] bogus red card.

After: Anything this very good team might accomplish will come with an asterisk, courtesy of the Meddler-in-Chief. We had a chance even without Balogun.

I wish Trump had not butted in.

I should have kept going.

We lost with Balogun on the field and we're wondering what might have been.

I may well have overestimated the level of the American team, but I can't imagine how this unwelcome controversy could have helped them prepare for that game or focus during the game. On top of that, what Trump did is also exactly the kind of thing that a good opposition coach will know how to use to motivate his players.

Earlier in the tournament, I watched Belgium's first game and texted my brothers of the turgid performance that Someone needs to take Belgium out back and shoot them. (Belgium improved over its next games, but they have an aging squad, and I can't see them getting past Spain in the next game.)

Before this mess, I wondered: Will this plucky, spirited team find a way to beat Belgium without its star forward? I didn't expect a win, but I was looking forward to the game.

As I see it, the Americans had a chance at an unforgettable win or at least a valiant stand. They and their fans got Trump instead.

-- CAV