SEATTLE – Lumen Field was full, but no one was singing. Likewise, the U.S. men’s national team took to the pitch on Monday but ultimately did not turn up. There were few signs of trouble on the road to their 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the round of 16, a batch of impactful and important wins ensuring the vibes were as high as they could be. Not only did they, controversially, have their best goalscorer available to them, but country singer Lainey Wilson was sending them good luck messages after finding out head coach Mauricio Pochettino was a big fan and “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was the most unavoidable song in the nation. An easy game did not await the USMNT, but there was no reason to suggest they would not give it their best fight.

The moment, though, proved to be far too big for them from the very moment the opening whistle blew. The USMNT that seemed to take joy in a high-intensity style was nowhere to be found. Instead, they ceded possession to Belgium, who started without stars Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, and gave them a goal early. The U.S. were passive as Charles De Ketelaere bagged the first goal, defenders Tim Ream and Sergino Dest amongst those who were ball-watching rather than trying to keep the opponents at bay. It set the tone for the whole evening as the USMNT embodied nervousness in a way teams as good as the USMNT aspire to be rarely do.

They could barely string together a streak of more than a few passes, midfielders like Tyler Adams and Malik Tillman shockingly unable to do much with the ball at their feet. Tillman’s goal via a free kick was canceled out almost immediately as Belgium breezed through them barely a minute later.  De Ketelaere was able to complete a brace after little more than a half hour was played. Christian Pulisic was nonexistent and asked for a substitution following an injury and early into a second half when the USMNT had a few more attacking ideas, but lacked any clinical ability to pose even a marginal threat to Belgium’s defense. Creating things from open play was a fruitless exercise for the U.S. team, who played scared as they faced their first legitimate challenge at this World Cup.

Even if the crucial blow came with a blunder that goalkeeper Matt Freese was always prone to commit en route to Hans Vanaken‘s 57th-minute goal, USMNT fans were already hoping against hope. A team that talked a big game and were as well-positioned as they had ever been to reach an elusive World Cup quarterfinal were far too timid, the moment somehow far too big for them. They fell short at the first moment where things truly mattered, crumbling the very moment the pressure felt vaguely overwhelming. Three-and-a-half years after a painful defeat to the Netherlands at the round of 16 in Qatar — and three-and-a-half years of citing that loss over and over as a place to learn a lesson — the USMNT did little to show that they had actually grown, no matter how often they talked about their own maturity.

The loss was bad, how they lost was worse

Losing on its own was not the problem. Even a Belgium side as inconsistent as this one made for a formidable foe regardless of the circumstances. The genuine issue on Monday is that a fear many had about this version of the USMNT crystalized in Seattle. The most generous read is that they have not progressed even a little, but what was more glaring as they slumped to the end of their World Cup journey is that they had actually regressed, no amount of experience at the club or international level offering them the necessary confidence to simply show up, and no amount of coaching or lecturing from the best available coach for the job able to knock them out of a years-long slumber at a history-making juncure.

Nearly a decade after this generation of players were handed the keys to the national team, boasting a potential few had ever seen in USMNT-eligible talent, they have done little with it as a collective. Some of this does not come as a surprise. The world’s top teams remain as talented as ever, a high-quality opponent set to beat them sooner rather than later. The concern is that they could not even attempt to go toe-to-toe with Belgium, a years-long promise to do something special dashed with a lifeless showing after a special stretch of weeks.

Years of work have led the U.S. team back to the question they have faced over and over and over again about mentality, the allegations hard to beat. They have failed to perform when the pressure got dialed up even a little bit, be it a group stage exit at the Copa America two years ago, a shocking batch of losses in the Concacaf Nations League last year and finally on Monday against Belgium. The talent comparisons always end up being secondary, the fault the players’ own rather than anything else. It makes for the most painful question as one World Cup cycle comes to a close – even with another batch of talented players coming up the ranks, can the USMNT actually rise to any occasion that they meet, let alone the most important ones?