Belgium shattered the ambitions of co-hosts United States by eliminating them from the round of 16 in the 2026 football World Cup with a 4-1 victory on Monday in Seattle, USA, setting up a quarter-final clash with Spain on Friday in Inglewood (Los Angeles).
اضافة اعلان
Belgium’s goals were scored by Charles De Ketelaere (9' and 33') and substitutes Hans Vanaken (57') and Romelu Lukaku (90+3'), while the lone American goal was scored by Malik Tillman (31').
The US team joined its fellow co-hosts, Mexico and Canada, out of the tournament after suffering its seventh consecutive defeat against Belgium across all competitions, a streak dating back to its first and only 3-0 victory over the European side in the 1930 World Cup.
Belgium’s French coach, Rudi Garcia, said: "Right now in Belgium, it's 4:00 AM. Everyone who woke up to follow the match should be proud of the players. Belgium is a major country in football."
He added: "We executed the tactical plan we prepared and controlled the tempo throughout the game. We entered the match with a clear and specific starting lineup and game plan. The biggest negative point is Amadou Onana's injury. I have the impression that it's a serious injury, but despite that, we successfully qualified for the quarter-finals."
He continued: "Our 'golden sub' has struck again. Romelu Lukaku scored another goal."
Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine coach of the United States, said: "The match was very difficult from the beginning. We congratulate Belgium; they were better than us. It was not our day. This is not looking for excuses... We did not perform at the level we usually show, and that is the truth."
He completed: "We must learn, review the match, and understand why we did not handle it the same way we played the rest of the World Cup games. It wasn't our day... and this performance did not reflect our usual style."
Meanwhile, the star of the match, De Ketelaere, said: "It's a perfect moment for the team, for me personally, and for the country. I don't care about what was being said about me (that I don't score goals), because I know very well what I provide to the team. Against New Zealand, I played a great game as well, even though I didn't score. Today I scored two goals and provided an assist, which is wonderful."
He added: "I like touching the ball and participating in building up the play very much, and sometimes I forget to be inside the penalty box. But I corrected that today."
"The Response on the Pitch"
The heat of the match actually ignited before its official scheduled time. This came after FIFA suspended the ban on American star Folarin Balogun, who had received a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-0). The decision sparked a wave of critical reactions, especially after US President Donald Trump revealed that he personally asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the decision.
Following the suspension of Balogun's ban, FIFA rejected Belgium's appeal, describing it as "inadmissible." The Belgian Football Association stated it received no explanation on the matter, while their coach, Rudi Garcia, expressed his astonishment at the decision, sarcastically asking, "April Fool's?"
Midfielder Nicolas Raskin said: "Over the past two days, a lot of things happened outside the framework of football. There was a sense of injustice within the group, and we had a strong determination to respond on the pitch."
Winger Dodi Lukebakio said: "We didn't really understand why he was allowed to participate since he received a red card, but we didn't want to focus too much on that. We wanted to stay focused and play our way, and that's what we did today."
Pochettino capitalized on the decision, starting Balogun—the host team's top scorer in the tournament (3 goals)—in a lineup that remained unchanged compared to the round of 32 match against Bosnia.
On the other hand, Garcia made 4 changes to the lineup that overcame Senegal in the previous round, bringing in defender Nathan Ngoy, midfielders Raskin and Onana, and winger Dodi Lukebakio, in place of Arthur Theate, Kevin De Bruyne, Vanaken, and Jérémy Doku.
The Decisive De Ketelaere
The "Red Devils" opened the scoring before the tenth minute. From a cross played by Raskin from the left side into the penalty box, De Ketelaere slotted the ball with his right foot into the open net from inside the six-yard box (9').
Onana suffered an injury, prompting Garcia to substitute him with Vanaken (21').
However, Vanaken was unlucky. Against the run of play, from a direct free kick struck by Tillman, Vanaken deflected the ball's path, and it settled in the middle of the net of his teammate, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (31').
Yet, the present American crowd and players only rejoiced for four minutes: a pass from Tielemans toward the active and hard-working left winger, Leandro Trossard, on the left flank, led to a precise cross toward the six-yard box, which De Ketelaere converted with a header into the right corner (33').
Lukebakio almost added a third, but his close-range header, following a direct free kick from the left side taken by Maxim De Cuyper, narrowly missed the left post (43').
Things worsened for Pochettino and his players by conceding the third goal, especially since it resulted from a fatal individual error that doubled its negative mental and psychological impact: goalkeeper Freese made a passing error outside his box under pressure from the star of the match, De Ketelaere. The ball rolled to Vanaken, who struck a low right-footed shot from long range, which Ream failed to prevent from shaking the net (57').
Substitute Lukaku wrapped things up with the fourth goal via a low right-footed shot from the right side inside the box, settling to the left of Freese (90+3').
Lukaku became the first Belgian player to score three or more goals in more than one edition of the World Cup (2018 and 2026), and he also became the first player to score as a substitute in four different World Cup matches.
AFP
