SEATTLE — Mauricio Pochettino repeated three words, three times, as if attempting to summon a soccer Beetlejuice.

On Wednesday evening, basking in the buzz of another FIFA Men's World Cup win, the 54-year-old Argentine completed an interview with Fox Sports sideline reporter Jenny Taft. Pochettino had just sung John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with an entire stadium, later saying he loves to be “part of the party.”

After the United States men’s national team defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 to earn a round-of-16 matchup in Seattle, despite being down a man for more than 30 minutes, why should the party stop anytime soon?

Smile spreading, eyes glimmering, pride bursting, brown hair waving in the Bay Area wind, Pochettino ended the interview with a question doubling as a dare.

“These guys are creating a legacy in this country. And with amazing fans, everything is possible,” the increasingly beloved U.S. coach told Taft. “Why not us? Why not us? Why not us?”

Why not us? For a pessimist — or a realist? — that’s easy to answer. Because Belgium, which the U.S. meets on Monday at Seattle Stadium in the round of 16, hasn’t lost since March 2025 (16 matches ago). Because one of those 16 matches was a decisive 5-2 Belgium win over these same Americans in March. Because the U.S. will be without star forward Folarin Balogun, whose controversial red-card suspension could be crippling.

Because when has this team ever won the big one?

See Exhibits A through Z, a painful precedent. A 2-1 Belgium win over Team USA in the 2014 World Cup, with extra-time goals from midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and striker Romelu Lukaku, both of whom remain on Belgium’s roster. Three consecutive round-of-16 exits for the overmatched Americans, who haven’t cracked the quarterfinals since 2002. Years of disappointment; of squandered promises; of feeble, punchless soccer and dissolving resolve.

Considering the reams of convincing context, skepticism is sensible. Belief is risky.

But I believe the United States will beat Belgium anyway.

Because this isn’t the same team that lost to Belgium in March, or melted under the magnifying glass of previous World Cups. This isn’t the same Belgian world-beater, either. De Bruyne (35) and Lukaku (33) are fading stars on a fallible roster. The Red Devils, likewise, drew their World Cup matches against Iran and Egypt and needed a frenzied comeback (and a controversial finish) to escape Senegal in the round of 32.

(Six U.S. players started both the March friendly against Belgium and their round-of-32 match. Five Belgium players did the same.)

When asked Friday how the Americans have improved since March, U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams said: “I feel like tactically we’ve been really sound in this tournament so far. We’ve done a lot of good things defensively, made a lot of tweaks.

“I think it all starts with the preparation matches we had coming into the tournament. I thought we played really well in both of those matches. Obviously we lost to Germany (2-1 on June 6), but it was a great test of what we need to do differently and what we need to adjust. We’ve shown flexibility and versatility as a team, guys playing different roles, managing different situations really well. So against Belgium I think we’ll be well equipped.”

That’s despite being without Balogun, who’s scored three goals in his three World Cup matches. Pochettino will likely turn to 23-year-old forward Ricardo Pepi to start in his stead.

But I believe the United States will beat Belgium because of their ability to counter that adversity. After Balogun received his red card in the 64th minute, the U.S. could have cratered, succumbing to the pressure of a global spotlight. Instead, the Americans added another goal and decisively dispatched an inferior side. They proved something in doubling down, in passing that test. They turned a setback into a statement.

“You can’t change what happened, but we’re going to go out, and we’re going to fight so (Balogun) can play another game,” 38-year-old U.S. captain Tim Ream told Fox Sports after that win. “We move on, and we fought out there for him for 25, 35 minutes. It’s going to be the exact same in the next game. I looked him dead in the eye and said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ve got you.’”

I believe the United States will beat Belgium … because how could this party stop in Seattle? On June 19, this soccer city swelled as the U.S. soared in a 2-0 win over Australia. Red, white and blue burst out of bars and crammed in picturesque parks along the waterfront. American flags waved and were sold on the street. More than 65,000 people swept into Seattle Stadium, united in decibels, drowning the doubt.

Belgium is historically and analytically superior to Australia. But if any city understands how to host Monday Night Fútbol, it’s Seattle. If any crowd understands how to imbue belief, it’s a sea of torrential 12s.

Call this reactionary. Call it unrealistically optimistic. Call it homer hope. Call it deceptive sunshine in the eye of a storm.

But that three-word question is starting to sound like a rallying cry.

Belief is risky. It’s contagious, too.

“We’ve come in with the mindset that we can do something special,” Adams said Friday, before a practice at the University of Washington. “We have the belief within our group, and we’re going to continue to have that belief.”

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