Kevin De Bruyne expects for 'aggressive' USMNT as Belgium star gears up for pre-World Cup test against Mauricio Pochettino's men

De Bruyne is under no illusions about the intensity the Stars and Stripes will bring to the pitch under their new leadership. "They will be wanting [to show] the country that they are ready for the World Cup because it's a big event and there will be a lot of pressure on them," De Bruyne said. "So, I expect them to be aggressive, and it's good for us to see how we handle that because in qualification we play against a lot of teams who have maybe played in a low block and maybe now it's the opposite, so it could be good for us."

The introduction of the UEFA Nations League has made cross-confederation friendlies a rare commodity in the modern game. With European nations often locked into playing one another, the opportunity for Belgium to face North American opposition is a tactical breath of fresh air for manager Rudi Garcia. Belgium have not faced a side ranked in the FIFA top 30 outside of Europe since 2024.

While the USMNT is still building its identity under Pochettino, they boast a recent World Cup pedigree that surpasses Belgium’s showing in Qatar. The Americans reached the round of 16 in 2022, while the Red Devils’ 'Golden Generation' suffered a disappointing group-stage exit. This fixture represents a conscious effort by the Belgian FA to move away from the predictable rhythms of European qualifying groups and test the squad against varied styles of play.

The competitive edge for this match has been sharpened by the rhetoric coming from the USMNT camp. Pochettino has been vocal about the mindset he expects from his players, suggesting that the term "friendly" is a misnomer for a match of this magnitude at this stage of the cycle. He wants his team to treat every minute on the pitch as a trial for the biggest stage in sports.

Pochettino suggested that these matches shouldn't be called friendlies and instead they should be called, "unofficial games" as when you're playing in a friendly, you're playing against friends, and that's very much not the case in Atlanta. These are two teams that want to win to show that they're ready for the World Cup around the corner. For the USMNT, it is a chance to prove they can hang with the elite; for Belgium, it is a chance to adapt to the climate and intensity they will face this summer.

Belgium’s qualifying path was relatively straightforward, featuring encounters against the likes of Wales, Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan and North Macedonia. While those fixtures secured their place at the tournament, they offered little in the way of high-pressing, high-intensity preparation. Facing a Pochettino-led side provides the exact "aggressive" stimulus De Bruyne believes has been missing from their recent schedule.

The fixture in Atlanta serves as a vital experimentation ground for coach Garcia to refine his tactics. With the World Cup looming, the ability to handle an opponent that refuses to sit in a low block is paramount. As De Bruyne noted, the shift in style is exactly what the Red Devils need to ensure they don't repeat the mistakes of past tournaments where they struggled to adapt to non-European tactical systems.