Robert Griffin III said he was “drinking my sorrows away” after Belgium beat the U.S. men’s national team 4-1 in the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Monday — and partially blamed American fans for the “embarrassing” loss.
The former NFL quarterback, who currently works as a college football analyst and broadcaster for Fox Sports, didn’t hold back in a series of X posts, while vacationing with his wife, Grete, in Hawaii.
“We lost because (Belgium is a better team) we weren’t a united front as fans,” Griffin wrote. “We are supposed to be the United States of America not the divided states of America.”
Griffin added that “you are a traitor” if you are a U.S. Citizen and aren’t rooting for the Americans.
“I’m not gonna lie guys. I’m DEVASTATED,” Griffin said in another post. “I’m in Hawaii right now drinking my sorrows away with a group of Australians because Belgium made us look like an AAU TEAM.
“We had such a massive build up to this game. WE HAD PRESIDENT TRUMP CALL FIFA. WE HAD A DANG RED CARD SUSPENDED. Then Belgium, the dang waffle makers, literally bent us over and made us like it.
“I know American Soccer is still pretty far behind Europe, but Belgium made it VERY OBVIOUS. We looked like we didn’t know what the hell we were doing. It was just so embarrassing. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THIRD GOAL?
“We looked like a team that calls it soccer, not football. Again Congrats to Belgium, but WTF?”
The U.S. struggled defensively against Belgium.
American star forward Christian Pulisic had a lackluster showing before being subbed off in the 59th minute due to a ankle injury he sustained after kicking the back of Belgium’s Youri Tielemans leg.
U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, the team’s top scorer, couldn’t save his team from the 4-1 defeat after being cleared to play following FIFA’s controversial decision to lift his one-game red-card suspension.
AP Photo/Manu Fernandez
Griffin publicly supported Balogun, previously sharing in a post on X: “FIFA got it right” by suspending his red card, which he received in the Americans’ win over Bosnia in the Round of 32.
Griffin and his wife, who are the co-hosts of the “Outta Pocket” podcast, attended multiple matches at NRG Stadium in Houston throughout this year’s World Cup, with the former Heisman trophy winner passionately rooting for the USA.
