A fine performance by Belgium against the future hosts of the World Cup.

The packed schedule of international friendlies offered a brilliant taste of what might be in store this summer at the World Cup in the US: in Atlanta, Belgium and the United States went head-to-head, featuring numerous stars from our Serie A league.

Advertisement

The match was a one-sided affair, as the Red Devils, thanks to a simply sensational second half, literally ran riot and dominated the Stars and Stripes, defeating them by a 5-2 margin.

THE STARTING LINE-UPS

USA (4-3-3): Turner; Robinson, Tessman, Tillman, McKenzie; McKennie, Cardoso, Ream; Pulisic, Weah, Balogun. Manager: Pochettino

BELGIUM (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Meunier, Debast, Mechele, De Cuyper; Raskin, Onana; Saelemaekers, De Bruyne, De Ketelaere; Doku. Manager: Rudi Garcia

Advertisement

MCKENNIE TAKES CENTRE STAGE

There are plenty of Serie A stars to keep an eye on: from Juventus’ McKennie, to Milan’s Pulisic, Napoli’s De Bruyne and Saelemaekers, also of the Rossoneri.

The first half passed largely uneventfully, with both sides focused on sizing each other up and failing to provide much entertainment for the crowd at the stadium in Atlanta. The deadlock was finally broken in the 39th minute: a superb corner from Robinson found McKennie making a brilliant run into the six-yard box to tap the ball in, confirming his excellent form of late.

Advertisement

The closing minutes provided further excitement with Debast’s crisp right-footed strike, a razor-sharp finish that levelled the score just before half-time and into stoppage time. The match then really came to life in the second half.

The Ketelary, Lukebakio and Sailmakers Show

The second half saw Belgium in incredible form. The restart, in fact, began with a superb move down the right, finished off by a brilliant piece of play from Alexis Saelemaekers who, in the centre of the box, beat the US defence to the ball and played a delightful pass from just outside the penalty area to Onana, who beat Turner.

Advertisement

From the 53rd minute onwards, the Red Devils were unstoppable: first De Ketelaere (who was later substituted for Juventus’ Openda) converted a penalty, then Lukebakio went it alone to score a brace, sealing the result at a resounding 1-5. Agyemang’s late goal served to make the evening slightly less bitter for the United States.

Overall, it was a good performance from Belgium, led in midfield by De Bruyne, whilst the USA’s display fell short, with captain Pulisic once again looking out of sorts, reflecting his form in 2026, which has been lacking in goalscoring success.

All the latest updates in real time! Join the CALCIOMERCATO.COM WhatsApp channel: click here