For a moment there, it looked like it could be had. Just two minutes in, Christian Pulisic found himself alone with the goalkeeper. If that goes in... it's a different game. It didn't, the shot ringing off the goalie's leg. Eight minutes later, Memphis Depay was left completely unmarked (this will become a theme), and the Dutch scored. The game wasn't over then, but...

What followed was the US trying to break the Dutch bunker for the rest of the half, completely incapable of doing so. Wasted possession after wasted possession, only for the ball to recirculate back into the American half. And then, right before the halftime whistle, a completely unmarked (the theme continues) Daley Blind made it 2:0. The game wasn't over then, but...

The US needed three huge saves from Matt Turner to keep the margin at two. Then, midway through the half, Haji Wright found himself alone with the goalkeeper. If that goes in... It didn't, as a bad first touch by Wright rendered the play moot. The game wasn't over then, but...

Soon after, in the 76th, off a corner, DeAndre Yedlin stepped up, found Pulisic, who dribbled into the box and sent the ball towards the net, where it bounced off the dumbfounded Wright and in. The game wasn't over then! But...

Just five minutes later, Denzel Dumfries was left completely unmarked (sigh) in the box, and that was it. 3:1. The game wasn't over then, officially, but it was pretty much academic.

At the end, the US lost to a superior opponent who finished its chances. At the end, the US couldn't overcome its deficiency at striker. At the end, this World Cup will likely be remembered as a stepping stone to 2026. At the end, the US did as well as most expected them to: they got out of the group, only to lose in the Round of 16. At the end, it's not the end of the world.

But...