The U.S. men’s national team suffered humiliation on Monday night, falling to Belgium 4–1 in the World Cup round of 16 to crash out of the tournament. It means the co-host won’t make a historic cameo in the quarterfinals, and home team disappointment has quickly affected ticket pricing for the upcoming round.
The Stars and Stripes had entered the round of 16 as a marginal favorite. Although the European heavyweight was a top 10 global power, the Americans had everything on their side to pull off a dreamy win. They had the thunderous home crowd at Seattle’s Lumen Field, encapsulating the energy and excitement that had enveloped the team since its dominant victory in the World Cup opener. They had the re-emergence of star striker Folarin Balogun, who was originally due to serve a one-game ban for a red card before it was miraculously (and contentiously) suspended. Most importantly, they had the swagger of a dark horse contender.
All of those factors quickly proved irrelevant on Monday night, though, as it took all of 30 seconds for Belgium to start jumping down the USMNT’s throat, and the visitor never looked back. For the first time all tournament, the U.S. looked utterly lost and confused, as if it hadn’t even anticipated playing a match that day, let alone the biggest one of a generation.
Belgium rightfully staked its claim to a spot in the quarterfinals, which means it earns the right to face Spain on Friday in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium.
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Quarterfinal Ticket Prices Tank
American fans had the utmost faith in the USMNT to secure a historic place in the quarterfinal stage, something the team hasn’t accomplished in 24 years. Their confidence was reflected in the whopping price tag to see the would-be quarterfinal affair, opening at $3,300 over the weekend on FIFA’s resale marketplace, per TicketData.
Following the USMNT’s defeat, the price has since plummeted by 67%, now at roughly $1,100 per ticket (as of Tuesday) for the cheapest pair of seats on resale, located in the Category 2 section. On StubHub, the cheapest seat is $1,200.
The sheer drop in price suggests the phenomenon that has occurred over the past four weeks: the USMNT has won the hearts of its home crowd this summer and inspired a nation to (literally) buy into a sport that it is still largely coming to understand and appreciate, especially on the men’s side.
When the USMNT punched its ticket to the round of 16 with a 2–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, ticket prices for the match against Belgium jumped to about $3,000 on the resale marketplace.
