Why World Cup exit showed the limits to the USA’s power – on and off the pitch

As football was the winner, Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump were the losers. American exceptionalism took on a new turn as the United States were exceptionally bad against Belgium; some 48 hours after the USA’s birthday came the death of Mauricio Pochettino’s dream. Football is supposed to unite the world – a cliché parroted by the pundits on Fox’s jingoistic coverage in the US, who neglect to mention who is dividing it – and so it did: in cheering for Belg