Co-hosts United States crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a comprehensive 4-1 defeat to a ruthless Belgium side in the Round of 16 at Seattle Stadium. The European powerhouse capitalized heavily on defensive errors to end the Americans’ hopes of a deep tournament run on home soil. Charles De Ketelaere was the star of the night, netting a brace, while substitutes Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku capitalized on lapses in judgment to seal a dominant victory.
Belgium opened the scoring early in the 9th minute when De Ketelaere cleanly slotted home a diagonal pass from Dodi Lukébakio. The United States briefly restored hope to a passionate home crowd of over 66,000 when Malik Tillman bent a brilliant 25-yard free kick past Thibaut Courtois in the 31st minute, becoming the first player since 1982 to score two free-kick goals in a single World Cup tournament. However, the momentum vanished almost instantly as De Ketelaere struck again just two minutes later, capitalizing on a defensive gap to restore Belgium’s advantage.
The second half compounded the misery for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Star forward Christian Pulisic was forced off with an ankle injury shortly after the break, and a high-profile error from goalkeeper Matt Freese allowed Hans Vanaken to stretch the lead to 3-1 in the 57th minute. Romelu Lukaku put the final exclamation point on the performance by drilling home a fourth goal deep into stoppage time following a defensive giveaway. With the win, Belgium extends its unbeaten streak to 18 matches and moves on to face Spain in a highly anticipated quarterfinal clash on Friday, July 10, in Los Angeles.
