Belgium cruise past the USA to reach the World Cup quarter-finals
Belgium put on a commanding display in Seattle, beating the co-hosts USA 4-1 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 16. Charles De Ketelaere was the star of the show with two goals, while Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku also got on the scoresheet. Bayer Leverkusen's Malik Tillman had equalised with a free-kick that made it 1-1.
USA 1-4 BelgiumGoals: 0-1 De Ketelaere 9' (assist: Raskin), 1-1 Tillman 31', 1-2 De Ketelaere 33' (assist: Trossard), 1-3 Vanaken 57' (assist: De Ketelaere), 1-4 Lukaku 90' +3' (assist: Vanaken)
The FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 16 at Seattle Stadium saw co-hosts the United States face Belgium's Red Devils, knowing a win would see them face Spain in the last eight.
The big pre-match news centred on Balogun, who had been sent off in the USA's 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32. FIFA confirmed his one-game ban was suspended for a year, meaning the Monaco striker was free to start.
Belgium, meanwhile, made several surprise changes, with Arthur Theate, Kevin De Bruyne, Hans Vanaken and Jérémy Doku all dropping to the bench in favour of Nathan Ngoy, Amadou Onana, Nicolas Raskin and Dodi Lukébakio.
Belgium on top at the break
Belgium came flying out of the blocks. Within the opening minute, Leandro Trossard had a shot blocked, Youri Tielemans saw his follow-up effort blocked, and Timothy Castagne's shot had to be clawed away by Matt Freese. The pressure told just a few minutes later when Nicolas Raskin latched onto a loose ball and fired across goal, where Charles De Ketelaere had the simplest of tasks to sweep home from close range.
Tillman then drew the hosts level in the 31st minute, whipping a free-kick over the wall that was deflected by Vanaken and left Thibaut Courtois stranded.
The joy was short-lived, however. Just two minutes later, Trossard got to the byline and delivered a cross to the middle, where De Ketelaere leapt above Tim Ream to head Belgium back in front.
Belgium seize on defensive errors
The Americans showed more energy in the second half, but it was Belgium who struck next. In the 57th minute, a catastrophic error from Freese — who dithered on the ball and allowed De Ketelaere to block his clearance — left Vanaken with the ball 35 yards out. The midfielder curled a neat effort around the goalkeeper and through the retreating Ream to make it 3-1.
In stoppage time, another defensive error — this time from Chris Richards — allowed Vanaken to block his pass into the path of Lukaku, who tucked home a superb finish to seal a 4-1 victory and send Belgium into the quarter-finals.
