Heartbroken Kansas Citians hold onto some pride after ugly US exit in World Cup

The American dream died Monday for the U.S. and its soccer fans. Fittingly, it felt like thousand of Kansas Citians were watching a funeral during a match that many had the U.S. coming out of as victors.

For the second World Cup tournament in a row, the U.S. was sent home in the Round of 16. The Power & Light District was in its prime Monday, July 6, with the red, white and blue bleeding throughout the district for the highly anticipated matchup against Belgium,.

Well, the fandom showed up. The team? Not really, as the U.S. lost 4-1 in an ugly loss to Belgium.

Many fans were rocking Christian Pulisic’s No. 10 jersey, one of the marquee players for the U.S. Owen Reynolds was one of the fans in Power & Light representing Pulisic, who went out with a leg injury in the 59th minute.

“His injury was kind of devastating. I think there’s definitely some room for improvement,” Reynolds said. “I hope that it comes in the next four years through other tournaments, but it’s just disappointing. It’s kind of been a repetitive theme for the U.S., and so obviously the fans are hoping for more.”

When striker Romelu Lukaku made the insurance goal for Belgium, fans at the Power & Light began scattering like roaches as they headed for the exits. The party was already dead by the 57th minute when Belgium scored its third goal off a mental error by U.S. goalie Matt Freese.

All embarrassment to the side, P&L visitors were still proud of the run and excitement the U.S. team gave to fans. John Saint Paul of Kansas City was dressed up as Uncle Sam, walking around with his head high and his patriotism on full throttle after the loss.

“Even though I’m sad, I’m not going to cry over this. Up to this point, we have fought hard,” said Saint Paul. “It’s a young team, so the more experience they get, the better we get. 2030, we will get there.”

Kansas City fans weigh in on red card controversy ahead of game

When Folarin Balogun was shown in the U.S. starting lineup, you would have thought he was on the P&L stage the way fans roared for him. That’s because he wasn’t supposed to be playing in the game at one point.

Balogun was called for a red card in the U.S. match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. That would have been an automatic one-game suspension for him. The play was controversial throughout sports media, considering Balogun was the leading goalscorer for the U.S. this tournament. Then FIFA decided to delay the single-game suspension, allowing Balogun to play against Belgium.

Fans at P&L weighed in on the hot topic. While many were happy that Balogun was on the pitch, some of them didn’t like the way the situation was handled, including the involvement of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The initial play wasn’t necessarily warranting of a red card. But I think the way that it went about wasn’t necessarily in the best manner,” Arjun Joshi said prior to the match. “Having a president intervene in a soccer match, it feels like it’s kind of favored towards us in that sense ‘cause we’re a host country. I think it sets a precedent for later on for other World Cups (that) leaders might abuse later.”

Belgium had appealed the decision to let Balogun play, which got denied by FIFA. Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said the reversal felt like a “April Fools” joke. One fan at P&L saw both sides of the coin when it came to the messy situation.

“To Belgium’s point, it’s not fair, the best player coming back in the game. To the U.S., it was an unfair call,” Jayveon England said. “At the end of the day, FIFA made a decision. USA needs (Balogun). I felt like it was a bad call in the end of the day.”

All three host countries have now been eliminated from the tournament, with the U.S. following Mexico and Canada in losses. Balogun ended up being a nonfactor in Monday’s match, having 19 touches with no goals or assists.

On the bright side, there will be more fútbol played in the World Cup,. just without the U.S. Though the U.S. fans turnout Monday was just another display of how soccer has brought Kansas Citians together, as the World Cup summer nears its conclusion.

“Look at the community. Everybody’s together (and) it means a lot,” Gianlka Soriano said prior to the match. “Different faces, every race, it’s about to be everybody together at once to support each other.”

This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 5:00 AM.