Belgium storm into FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals with USA rout

Belgium hammered the United States 4-1 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash at Seattle Stadium in Washington on Monday, booking a place in the quarter-finals.

Belgium will face Spain in the quarterfinal on Friday, who beat Portugal 1-0 earlier on Monday.

The US's elimination means all three co-hosts are out of the tournament, after Canada and Mexico also lost in the last-16.

Charles De Ketelaere got the scoring started early as the Red Devils dominated proceedings. A deflected Malik Tillman free-kick brought the USA level, but just 56 seconds later, CDK restored the lead.

Hans Vanaken scored Belgium’s third goal in the 57th minute to make it 3-1.

Matt Freese failed to clear the ball, allowing De Cuyper to set up Vanaken, whose shot slipped past Tim Ream and into the net.

Romelu Lukaku, who came off the bench, scored in the 93rd minute to put the final nail in the coffin.

De Ketelaere opened the scoring for Belgium in the 9th minute of the match. The ball was played in from deep by Leandro Trossard, who looked to deliver it into the box. The United States failed to clear the danger, allowing CDK to score with a simple tap-in.

But USA’s Tillman responded with a 31st-minute equaliser. His free kick took quite a hefty deflection as it completely caught Thibaut Courtois off guard.

De Ketelaere restored Belgium’s one-goal lead in the 33rd minute. Trossard again provided an assist, playing brilliantly on the left and whipping the ball in for Ketelaere, who bagged his second of the game.

For the unversed, United States striker Folarin Balogun was allowed to start after FIFA suspended the red-card sanction he received in the team's last 32 match against Bosnia, with a FIFA appeals committee rejecting Belgium's challenge to the decision.

However, Balogun, USA’s top scorer at the World Cup 2026 with three goals, did not make any impact on the match.