Folarin Balogun returned to the USA starting lineup after his suspension was overturned following Donald Trump’s intervention, but Belgium ended the hosts’ World Cup campaign with a 4-1 victory to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals.
The Americans entered the Round of 16 clash buoyed by FIFA’s decision to overturn Balogun’s one-match suspension after intervention from US President Donald Trump, who had publicly called for a review of the striker’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The decision sparked widespread debate across the football world but ultimately failed to influence the outcome on the pitch.
Belgium, who surprisingly left star duo Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku on the bench, wasted little time asserting their dominance. De Ketelaere opened the scoring inside the opening 10 minutes, capitalising on poor American defending to hand the Red Devils an early advantage.
The USA responded in the 31st minute when Malik Tillman curled home his second direct free-kick goal of the tournament, with a heavy deflection helping the ball past the Belgian goalkeeper to briefly lift the home crowd.
However, the celebrations lasted barely a minute.
Belgium restored their lead just 61 seconds later as De Ketelaere rose highest to meet a cross and head home his second of the evening, exposing the United States’ defensive frailties once again.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side attempted to regroup after the break, but a costly mistake from goalkeeper Matt Freese all but ended any hopes of a comeback. Freese hesitated while trying to play out from the back under pressure from De Ketelaere, allowing the Belgian forward to dispossess him before Hans Vanaken fired into an unguarded net to make it 3-1.
The situation worsened for the hosts when captain Christian Pulisic was forced off with a foot injury midway through the second half, dealing another blow to an already fading American challenge.
Belgium completed the emphatic victory deep into stoppage time after Chris Richards gifted possession to substitute Romelu Lukaku, who calmly slotted home the fourth goal to seal the Red Devils’ place in the last eight.
Despite Balogun’s return to the starting lineup following FIFA’s controversial reversal of his suspension, the striker was unable to inspire the hosts, missing several opportunities as Belgium comfortably controlled the contest.
The defeat ends the United States’ hopes of reaching a first World Cup quarter-final since 2002 and extends their poor record against Belgium, whom they have now lost to in seven consecutive meetings since their lone victory at the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
It also marks the end of the tournament for all six CONCACAF representatives, with co-hosts USA, Canada and Mexico all eliminated before the quarter-finals. The final eight will now be made up exclusively of teams from Europe, South America and Africa.
Belgium will now face Spain in the quarter-finals after the Spaniards edged Portugal 1-0 in their Round of 16 encounter.
