There were some in the American media who hyped the USMNT to the moon as they moved through the 2026 FIFA World Cup, planting the seeds that they were capable of making a deep run, possibly even winning the whole thing.
Following the U.S.’s 4-1 loss in the Round of 16 to Belgium, TSN broadcasters in Canada were more than obliging in pointing out all the ways none of that ended up being true.
After the USMNT’s disappointing loss to Belgium on Monday, TSN broadcasters Steven Caldwell and Kevin Kilbane took a torch to the squad for falling short of the expectations placed on them.
TSN just put the US national team on a stretcher LMFAOOOO pic.twitter.com/X4yNYXZMjq
— Addison Barger Truther 🏴 (@BlueJayEnjoyer) July 7, 2026
“When it was a big stage, when they were playing against the proper team, they completely failed,” Caldwell said.
“This team is so overhyped, and this is the thing that we said coming into the tournament,” added Kilbane. “We were questioning them. The teams that they beat in this tournament they should’ve beat, and then they lost to Turkey and have been demolished by Belgium here today. Outclassed in every department. They’ve been schooled by a top-class side.
“… Do you think they were smelling themselves?” Kilbane added. “They were actually thinking they were going to go on and win this World Cup. They believed they could go all the way. But this is the level. This is what they are.”
TSN Canada is not nice 😂 pic.twitter.com/uVGltMGaIk
— Brattani (@Bratt_world) July 7, 2026
“I felt like Belgium were all over them,” added another TSN broadcaster. “They completely outclassed them. Complete performance. They showed how they know how to play in these stages of a World Cup, and the U.S. just had no answers. They had no creativity. They played with no intensity. Belgium had a lot of time and space on the ball, and yeah, they met their match today.”
Kilbane’s criticism of U.S. star Christian Pulisic was particularly harsh, saying that he no longer belonged in the conversation among the best players in the world.
“(Pulisic) should not be mentioned anywhere among some of the superstars,” he said. “But the hype train around him … (Pulisic) is as far off (Kylian) Mbappe (of France) and (Lionel) Messi (of Argentina) as could be.”
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.