4 min readNew DelhiJul 7, 2026 09:14 AM IST
First published on: Jul 7, 2026 at 08:58 AM IST
Phone calls from the White House don’t win you football games. FIFA can bend rules but it still can’t guarantee results. Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino ensured that US forward Folarin Balogun’s red card was overturned and he was on field but that didn’t matter for Belgium, who scored a 4-1 win to book a place in the quarter-final of the World Cup. The American dream is over; all three hosts are out of the World Cup.
Belgium, with the early momentum, took the lead in the opening 10 minutes through Charles De Ketelaere. A long ball was brought down beautifully by Leandro Trossard, whose cross was blocked before being pounced on by Nicolas Raskin, who drove at the US backline with some ease and delivered a low-driven pass into the box that was tapped in by De Ketelaere.
The American equaliser, arriving unexpectedly in the 31st minute, marked their solitary attempt on goal till then. Of course, Balogun found himself at the center of the action, hauled down by Brandon Mechele on the box’s edge; this allowed Malik Tillman to replicate his set-piece heroics from the Bosnia and Herzegovina match by dispatching yet another clinical free-kick.
The lead didn’t last for more than two minutes, though, as De Ketelaere found himself on the scoresheet again. Trossard, once again unmarked on the left, delivered a floating cross to the back post where the Atalanta man jumped over veteran Tim Ream to gain control of the game once again.
ALSO READ | From the shadows pounced Mikel Merino: Spain’s unlikely hero knocks out Portugal
Pochettino made just one change at the half, subbing out Sergiño Dest for Giovanni Reyna. Though the co-hosts made an encouraging start to the second half, maintaining more possession and trying to progress quickly, it all went very wrong very fast. First, in the 54th minute, Christian Pulisic was teeing up a shot just outside the box, but Youri Tielemans intervened just in time, resulting in the American striking his opponent’s foot instead. Though not deemed a foul, the winger was in clear pain after that.
Just three minutes later, the American squad saw their hopes further unravel due to a blunder by Matt Freese. The goalkeeper ventured far from his line to intercept the ball before De Ketelaere could reach it, but his hesitation to clear it immediately allowed the striker to poke it away. Left stranded in no man’s land and visibly unsure of how to react, Freese could only watch as Hans Vanaken seized the loose ball. Vanaken promptly struck a low-powered shot from distance that sailed past both the out-of-position keeper and a lunging Ream.
The final nail in the coffin was Pulisic being unable to continue, being replaced by Sebastian Berhalter in the 59th minute. Belgium were content with sitting back in the second half, the US holding more possession but unable to muster more than four shots in the second 45. The Red Devils countered when they needed to, but the match was done and dusted after the third strike. Romelu Lukaku sealed the victory in stoppage time, getting the ball in the box and cutting in from the right to drill a low finish into the bottom corner for his third goal of the tournament.
Belgium now face Spain in the quarter-finals, their toughest test yet. The 2018 third-place finishers were written off early on, after underwhelming performances against both Egypt and Iran. Progressing past the Round of 32 too was also complicated, needing a two-goal comeback after the 85th minute. But this match was a significant step up. Belgium, by knocking out US, showed that they have it in them to match favourites Spain.
USA knocked out from World Cup after losing to Belgium 4-1. (AP) 
Share
