Belgium Crush USA 4-1 to Book Spain Quarter-Final Clash

Belgium Crush USA 4-1 to Book Spain Quarter-Final Clash

SEATTLE — Fired-up Belgium brought the United States’ World Cup party to a shuddering halt on Monday, thrashing the tournament co-hosts 4-1 in a last-16 clash overshadowed by controversy, to set up a blockbuster quarter-final showdown with European champions Spain . In front of a sellout crowd of 66,925 at Lumen Field, Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and provided an assist, while Hans Vanaken punished a goalkeeping howler and substitute Romelu Lukaku added a fourth to seal a dominant victory that exposed the defensive frailties of Mauricio Pochettino’s side .

The build-up to the match was dominated by the controversial decision to allow US striker Folarin Balogun to play despite receiving a red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina, after FIFA controversially suspended the automatic one-match ban following direct lobbying by US President Donald Trump, who personally urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the case. The decision sparked widespread condemnation across the football world, with UEFA describing it as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable” and saying FIFA had “crossed a red line,” while the Belgian Football Association expressed its “astonishment” and threatened legal action . Belgium midfielder Nicolas Raskin said his team felt a “sense of injustice” over the decision, which fuelled their performance, and he declared: “A lot has happened off the pitch over the last two days. There was a sense of injustice within the squad, and we were determined to respond on the field” .

Belgium took control early, with Charles De Ketelaere opening the scoring in the ninth minute when Nicolas Raskin’s pass across the face of goal found the Atalanta forward, who tapped in from close range after the US defence failed to clear their lines, and Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, who made four changes to his starting XI leaving veteran Kevin De Bruyne on the bench, saw his decision proved justified as his team dominated proceedings. The Americans briefly levelled in the 31st minute when Malik Tillman’s deflected free-kick wrong-footed goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, sparking wild celebrations from the partisan crowd, but Belgium restored their lead just 61 seconds later when Leandro Trossard delivered a pinpoint cross and De Ketelaere out-jumped defender Tim Ream to head home his second goal of the night, effectively silencing the home fans and shifting momentum decisively in Belgium’s favour.

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Belgium effectively put the game beyond reach in the 57th minute when US goalkeeper Matt Freese made a costly error, rushing out of his area to clear a long ball but losing control, allowing De Ketelaere to steal the ball and square to Hans Vanaken, who side-footed into the empty net from outside the penalty area, and the American backline, considered the team’s weakness entering the tournament, appeared overwhelmed by Belgium’s attacking quality throughout the match. Coach Pochettino admitted after the game: “Today we did not show our real quality. We started in a really poor way. Wasn’t our day, in a collective or an individual way” , acknowledging that his team had failed to replicate the form that had captivated the host nation throughout the tournament. Romelu Lukaku piled on the misery with a fourth in stoppage time, slotting home after another US defensive giveaway to record a record third goal as a substitute in a single World Cup tournament, and after scoring, several Belgian players were pictured dancing in a style similar to the “Trump dance” — a clear mockery of the controversy that had dominated the pre-match narrative.

Despite Balogun being named in the starting line-up after the FIFA reprieve, the American striker was largely anonymous throughout the match, failing to add to his three tournament goals and struggling to make an impact against a well-organised Belgian defence, while Christian Pulisic was substituted in the 59th minute after picking up an injury that further weakened the American attack. US captain Tim Ream reflected on the defeat with visible emotion: “There’s so many different thoughts and emotions that are running through me at the minute that I’m not even thinking tactically… It’s just one of those that I probably won’t be able to personally think about for a few days” , summing up the disappointment of a campaign that had captivated the host nation but ended in bitter disappointment.

The result means all three co-hosts — the USA, Mexico, and Canada — have now been eliminated in the round of 16, a significant setback for the tournament organisers who had hoped for deeper runs from the host nations. The official Belgium national team Instagram account also appeared to mock the controversy, posting a picture of Lukaku cupping his ear with the caption “overturn this,” a direct reference to the Balogun reprieve that had so angered the Belgian camp .

Belgium will now face Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday, July 10, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, after the Spaniards booked their place with a 1-0 victory over Portugal in the final World Cup match of Cristiano Ronaldo’s career . Spanish substitute Mikel Merino coolly slotted the winner in the first minute of stoppage time to seal victory in a dour contest between the Iberian football rivals at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with the 41-year-old Ronaldo, playing in his sixth and final tournament, rarely more than a peripheral figure in a performance that saw Portugal muster just two shots on target compared to Spain’s six . Ronaldo said afterwards: “It was my last World Cup, yes, but I’ll have time to think about the rest… Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and you have to move on” , marking the end of an era for Portuguese football.

The Red Devils have reached at least the quarter-final stage in three of their past four World Cups, with their best-ever finish coming in 2018 when they took third place, and they will be looking to go one better this time around. Spain enters the quarter-final as the favourite, having not conceded a single goal in the tournament so far, while Belgium are the underdogs at +245 to advance, with Spain at -320 favourites . De Ketelaere, reflecting on his match-winning performance, said: “It is something you dream of as a kid. Being a decisive player in a knockout game is a dream come true” , while Garcia praised his team’s collective effort, stating: “We played with mastery, with willingness and with determination” .