FIFA World Cup 2026: Mistakes costly as US eliminated by Belgium, 4-1

SEATTLE — The United States’ dream of advancing at the World Cup skidded to a halt on Monday, as sloppy play and two key defensive mistakes -- including a major blunder by the Americans’ goalkeeper -- led to a 4-1 loss to Belgium in a round of 16 match.

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The victory at Seattle’s Lumen Field allowed Belgium to advance to the quarterfinal round, where it will meet Spain, a 1-0 winner against Portugal and superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo, on July 10.

The Red Devils’ Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in the first half, and Belgium sealed the match when U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese made a huge mistake, winning the ball outside of the goal box but then giving it away for an easy empty-net goal by Hans Vanaken in the 57th minute, The Athletic reported.

“We were not the same team that during the tournament showed the quality,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino told reporters after the match. “Very bad day. Wasn’t our day in a collective and individual way. And we need to accept that sometimes this type of thing happens.

“But in a tournament like the World Cup, when that happens, you don’t have another chance.”

The U.S. lost for the fourth time in five World Cups at the round-of-16 stage; the team did not qualify in 2018, ESPN reported. Belgium also eliminated the U.S. from the 2014 World Cup in the round of 16 -- in a match also contested in Seattle -- in extra time.

Even the presence of striker Folarin Balogun did not lift Team USA, which had played well in the tournament heading into Monday’s showdown.

The buildup to Monday’s match was contentious after FIFA overturned a red card shown to Balogun during the Americans’ victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 1, allowing the U.S. striker to play against the Belgians.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the red card call.

Belgium appealed the decision, but it was denied by FIFA’s appeal committee.

[ Belgium appeals FIFA’s Folarin Balogun decision; FIFA denies country’s request ]

As it turned out, Balogun, the Americans’ top scorer with three goals in the tournament, was hardly noticeable during Monday’s match, although he did set up the Americans’ only goal in the 31st minute.

Balogun was fouled by Belgium defender Brandon Mechele, The Associated Press reported. That led to Malik Tillman’s free kick, which he rifled over a wall of Belgian defenders to tie the match.

After the final whistle blew, Belgium soccer’s official X account published a post with an image of their players celebrating alongside a two-word caption: “Overturn this.”

De Ketelaere gave Belgium an early 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. He pounced on a ball that bounced in the U.S. box in the ninth minute and converted it into a goal, The Athletic reported.

Two minutes after Tillman tied the match, De Ketelaere struck again. He outjumped veteran U.S. player Tim Ream and headed in a cross from Leandro Trossard to make it 2-1.

Freese was aggressive in trapping a pass near the top of the box, but his hesitation in kicking it forward was costly. His attempted pass was deflected to Vanaken. The Belgian midfielder sent a shot toward the unprotected goal from 30 yards away. Ream, who tried to bail out his goalkeeper, stumbled and could not stop the shot from going into the net.

It was 3-1 Belgium, and the match was essentially over.

Romelu Lukaku, who scored in extra time against the U.S. in Seattle 12 years ago, scored in stoppage time to end Monday’s scoring, The Athletic reported.

“Tonight was not a good performance probably overall,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “It’s not what we look to achieve. There was a lot of things that we could have done better. I think when you concede goals that easily against the team of that quality and that caliber, it’s going to be difficult.

“We gave them good chances or even half chances and they finished them. It was just a little bit too easy today. So again, this was a moment to have the opportunity to advance and really try and do something special, but we fell short.”

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