Belgium show class, sleepy US make gross errors

And then there were none. The last of the three host nations, the United States, came crashing out of the FIFA World Cup 2026 after suffering a 4-1 loss to Belgium in their round of 16 match in Seattle on Tuesday. A first-half brace from Charles De Ketelaere and goals from Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku secured Belgium’s dominant victory and despite another freekick goal from Malik Tillman, the USA showed that there was still a long way to go for the team to compete with the giants of the sport. Belgium are now set to face Spain in the quarter-finals on July 10 in Los Angeles. 

The match kicked off in the shadow of the controversial decision by FIFA to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red card. Ruling under a rarely-used clause from the FIFA rulebook, the organization declared that the striker’s one match suspension, due to the red card he accumulated against Bosnia, would be suspended for a one year probationary period. The decision saw an uproar across the board, especially from the Belgian fans and football federation, who voiced their concerns and displeasure. On the other hand, US President Donald Trump, who allegedly is said to have contacted FIFA to revoke Balogun’s ban, was overjoyed, as was the rest of the USMNT fans due to the integral part the striker has played in the tournament so far. 

Adding to the flames of this controversy was the history between the two nations in the World Cup, and more specifically in the round of 16. The two sides last met in the 2014 World Cup in the round of 16 where Belgium claimed victory in extra-time with goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. Prior to the match, there was an atmosphere around the United States that this would be the game where they finally get revenge and also prove to the European giants that they are ready to truly compete at their level. Was this arrogance or delusion? The truth is that it was probably a mix of both, as they clearly had the advantage of being the host country and were coming into the game on the heels of one of the best runs in US football history.

They were also aware that this was no longer the Belgian Golden Generation of the 2014-2018 era. Instead, Belgium in this tournament had shown that the few remaining players from that Golden Generation, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, were struggling to compete at the same level and the national team looked like a shell of their former selves. They had barely managed to scrape past Senegal in the round of 32, after trailing 2-0 for the majority of regular time, and many felt that the physicality and athleticism of the US team would be too much for them to handle. 

However, Belgian head coach Rudi Garcia seemed to have learnt from the past games and made three major changes to the starting line-up that had faced Senegal in the round of 32. This included the reintroduction of centre back Nathan Ngoy, as well as the surprising benching of stars Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku in favour of Nicolas Raskin and Dodi Lukebakio. De Bruyne, who had been the heartbeat of the Belgian side for the past 10 years, was clearly having a tough time during this tournament and Garcia’s decision to drop him brought some much needed energy into the squad today.

His replacement, Raskin, would prove to be the catalyst for Belgian’s opener, as he crashed into the box to pick up a loose header and drove in a little further before crossing it into the path of De Ketalaere, who just had to tap the ball into the back of the net. The early goal was an encapsulation of the first 8 minutes of the game, as Belgium had pushed hard from kickoff, while the US seemed to have still not fully woken up. If you pause the moment just before Raskin picks up the loose header, you’ll see three US players just staring at the falling ball, waiting for it to touch the ground, while Raskin seizes his moment to create an opportunity, and that was simply the difference between the two teams today. 

The United States were so passive and laidback, you would not imagine that they were playing in a round of 16 game in the World Cup. They had no intensity and were constantly making simple errors and misjudging passes throughout the 90 minutes. It doesn’t matter how well you performed in the group stage or the round of 32, if you freeze in front of the first real challenge you face. 

Despite conceding early, the United States clawed back an equalizer through a Malik Tillman freekick in the 31st minute. Tillman had similarly scored a direct freekick against Bosnia in the previous match but this time he got lucky with the ball deflecting off Hans Vanaken’s head, which in turn changed the direction of the strike and sent it into the back of the net. Courtois, who had dived in the direction that Tillman’s strike was initially moving towards, could only watch as the ball rolled into the goal. 

But if the US thought that Belgium would allow them to go into the tunnel with everything level, which might have even allowed them to reset their tactics, they were dead wrong. Not even two minutes after Tillman’s goal, Belgium were back on offence and in a similar fashion to their first, Trossard whips the ball into the box, albeit aerially this time, and De Ketalaere rises above Tim Ream to head home Belgium’s second. 

It was 2-1 at the half and the worst was yet to come for the United States. And worst is not an over-exaggeration here, but probably one of the most befitting adjectives to describe the way the US gifted Belgium their third goal. A long pass from the Belgian backline saw De Ketalaere chasing down the ball with only US goalkeeper Matt Freese in front of him. Disregarding the fact that a long ball from a centre-back set-up a 1-1 opportunity for the striker, something which exposed the passivity of the US backline, it was Matt Freese’s next action that truly put the nail in the coffin for the United States. All Freese had to do in that scenario is clear the ball and get it out of danger. It’s textbook goalkeeping.

Instead, Freese takes a touch with his chest and then attempts to clear the ball, but his feet drag on the ground and he stumbles, which gives De Ketalaere enough time to knock it into the path of Vanaken who has a completely empty net to find his goal. Vanaken made it 3-1 and there was no one to blame for that goal but Freese and the US backline. The first mistake was on the part of the US backline in allowing De Ketalaere to be in such a position, but the glaring and obvious mistake was Freese’s decision-making and there are simply no excuses to be made for that one. All Freese had to do was kick the ball upfield so the defence could reset and be prepared for the next attack. It’s those kinds of errors that separates the real contenders from the pretenders, because you can’t make such a big mistake during a knockout game. 

Vanaken’s goal was essentially the end of the road for the United States, but Belgium, perhaps incensed by the pre-match controversies, were not done yet. Again the goal came from two successive mistakes in clearing the ball by the US backline, which allowed the ball to fall into the path of substitute Romelu Lukaku, who finally killed the American dreams with a sublime finish into the back of the net. Perhaps it’s poetic that the man who had won Belgium the game in extra-time 12 years ago in Brazil, would be the one to twist the dagger further into this United States team. 

It’s a disappointing end to the tournament for the co-hosts. A run that started off so bright with a 4-1 routing of Paraguay, ended in an ironic reverse scoreline for the US. While their performances show that coach Mauricio Pochettino is moving the team in the right direction, a lot of questions have to be asked of the players themselves after today. In particular, ‘Captain America’ Christian Pulisic, who has been touted as one of the best American football players, was largely absent from the tournament and especially non-existent tonight. He had no impact on the pitch before coming off with an injury in the 58th minute.

Balogun, whose inclusion in the match was the source of so much discourse, was also sub-par and failed to take advantage of a few easy opportunities that he got. More than anything, the United States was hit with a harsh reality check tonight and as Thierry Henry said in the post-match commentary, they were shown that there are ‘levels’ to football. If a Belgian side well past their prime can put 4 goals past you, imagine the difference between the United States and a real contender. 

For Belgium, this was clearly their best performance of the tournament so far, and Rudi Garcia has to be applauded for his brave decision in benching his two stars. They played with a renewed intensity and vigor, both of which will be important when they face Spain on July 10. Is it possible that this Belgian team, running on the dying embers of their Golden Generation, can make a final push for the World Cup?