Read 4 minutesNew DelhiUpdated: 7 July 2026 09:14 AM IST
White House phone calls don’t win you football games. FIFA can bend the rules but still cannot guarantee results. Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino made sure US forward Folarin Balogun’s red card was overturned and he was on the field but it didn’t matter for Belgium, who scored. A 4-1 win secured a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The American Dream is over; All three hosts are out of the World Cup.
Belgium took the lead within the first 10 minutes through a goal by Charles de Keteler. Leandro Trossard brought down a long ball beautifully, whose cross was intercepted by Nicholas Ruskin, who drove with some ease over the US backline and delivered a low-running pass into the box that was tapped in by De Ketteler.
The Americans unexpectedly equalized in the 31st minute, putting their only effort on goal until then. Of course, Balogun, brought down by Brandon Mechele on the edge of the box, put himself at the heart of the action; This allowed Malik Tillman to emulate his set-piece heroics in the Bosnia and Herzegovina match by sending over another clinical free-kick.
The lead didn’t last more than two minutes, however, as De Ketelere found himself on the scoresheet again. Trossard, again unmarked on the left, delivered a floating cross to the back post where the Atlanta man leapt over veteran Tim Ream to take control of the game once again.
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Pochettino made just one change at half-time, replacing Giovanni Reina with Sergio Aguero. Although the co-hosts made a spirited start to the second half, retaining more possession and trying to make quick strides, it all went wrong very quickly. First, in the 54th minute, Christian Pulisic took a shot from just outside the box, but Yuri Tielemans intervened in time, as a result of which the American hit his opponent’s leg. Although the foul was not called, the winger was in obvious pain afterwards.
Just three minutes later, a mistake by Matt Freese gave the Americans a boost. The goalkeeper tried to move off his line to block the ball before it could reach de Ketelere, but his hesitation to clear it was flicked away by the striker. Stuck in no man’s land down the left and clearly unsure of how to react, Friese could only watch as Hans Vanaken latched onto the loose ball. Wanaken immediately fired a low-powered shot from distance that went past both the out-of-position keeper and a lunging Rem.
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The final nail in the coffin Pulisic was unable to continue, replaced by Sebastian Berhalter in the 59th minute. Belgium was content to sit back in the second half, with the US having 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 brought the ball into the box in stoppage time, cut in from the right and scored his third goal of the tournament into the bottom corner to seal the victory.
Belgium now face Spain in the quarter-finals, their toughest test yet. The 2018 third-place finishers were eliminated early after strong performances against both Egypt and Iran. Progressing past the round of 32 was also difficult, requiring a two-goal comeback after the 85th minute. But this match was important. Belgium knocked out the US and showed they have the ability to match favorites Spain.