So the U.S.A. leaves the World Cup with heads held high. We took Belgium into overtime. Even two goals down, we kept fighting, and had our chances to win it. I’m not saying that we should be satisfied with what we’ve achieved, because we can—and, I believe, we will—do better, but there’s no shame in losing to Belgium. Many pundits picked Belgium as the dark horse to win the whole thing. We can be proud of what we’ve done. We had a tough road to travel and still went further in the tournament than England, Italy, Spain, and thirteen other teams. In fact, only eight countries went further than us. So hats off and mugs up to the team, its staff, and the supporters. Now we build up for the next one. I believe that the team is in good hands, that the future is bright, and that we will win it all one day.

Illustration by Matt Diffee.

[#image: /photos/59095114ebe912338a3726ac]See more of The New Yorker’s coverage of the 2014 World Cup.