India, July 7 -- The dream did not merely end for the United States. It was broken open, stripped of its noise, and left exposed under the lights of Seattle.

On a night built for American defiance, Belgium delivered cold European judgment. The scoreline read 4-1, but the damage felt heavier than that. This was not just a defeat in a knockout match. This was a home World Cup campaign collapsing in front of its own people, with hope briefly rising, then being crushed almost immediately by a Belgium side that grew more ruthless with every American mistake.

For all the emotion around the occasion, the United States never truly looked in control of it. They had the crowd, they had the stage, they had the sense of unfinished business. But Bel...