{"id":27310,"date":"2026-07-08T02:34:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T02:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/27310\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T02:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T02:34:40","slug":"world-cup-2026-belgium-thrash-usa-to-reach-quarter-finals-and-knock-out-co-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/27310\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2026: Belgium thrash USA to reach quarter-finals and knock out co-costs"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Issued on: 07\/07\/2026 – 01:06Modified: 07\/07\/2026 – 04:45<\/p>\n

1 min Reading time\n<\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/p>\n

Charles De Ketelaere scored a brace for Belgium. \u00a9 Alex Grimm, Getty Images via AFP <\/p>\n

\n Charles De Ketalaere scored twice as Belgium thumped the US 4-1 in their World Cup last-16 clash to end the co-hosts’ World Cup dream. The buildup to the match was overshadowed by a row over US President Donald Trump’s extraordinary intervention to earn a red-card reprieve for striker Folarin Balogun. Read our blog to see how the match unfolded. <\/p>\n

De Ketelaere gave Belgium<\/a> the lead in the ninth minute with a simple tap-in, taking full advantage of a nervous start by \u200bthe US<\/a> to \u200cquickly deflate the partisan crowd.<\/p>\n

Malik Tillman equalised in the 31st minute with a \u2060deflected free kick which wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois, but De Ketelaere restored Belgium’s lead little more than a minute later with a back-post header.<\/p>\n

Read moreWorld Cup 2026: All the fixtures<\/a><\/p>\n

The hosts played \u200cwith more authority after the break until a calamitous error from goalkeeper Matt Freese allowed \u2060substitute Hans Vanaken to score in the 57th minute, irreversibly shifting the momentum in a stunned Seattle Stadium.<\/p>\n

Romelu Lukaku then added a fourth in added time to send US fans streaming \u200bfor the exits.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 04:44Thank you for following this blog<\/p>\n

Congratulations to Belgium, who were excellent after a slow start to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Commiserations to the US hosts, whose limitations were brutally exposed tonight after a rip-roaring start to the tournament.<\/p>\n

Stay with us for more coverage of the World Cup<\/a>, including the two remaining last-16 fixtures: Argentina vs Egypt and Colombia vs Switzerland.<\/p>\n

\n 07\/07\/2026 – 04:19\n <\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 04:15And here’s our match report<\/p>\n

A thumping win for Belgium. And a shattering halt to USA’s World Cup party.<\/p>\n

\n 07\/07\/2026 – 04:09\n <\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:58Full time! USA 1-4 Belgium!<\/p>\n

US hopes of a deep World Cup run at home have ended.<\/p>\n

Belgium played brilliantly, exposing the Americans\u2019 defensive liabilities to earn a quarter-final berth.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:57GOAL! Lukako scores Belgium’s fourth!<\/p>\n

Lukako rubs it in with a fourth goal for Belgium!<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:55Four minutes of added time<\/p>\n

The World Cup dream is fast fading away for Team USA.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:53Richards with a crucial block<\/p>\n

Doku launches a Belgian counter and offloads to Lukaku, who can\u2019t get a shot.<\/p>\n

Trossard can but Richards blocks.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:48Courtois denies Balogun<\/p>\n

Balogun races down the left and tries to fire past Courtois on his near post but the Belgian keeper parries.<\/p>\n

It’s now or never for the hosts.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:46Chance for USA!<\/p>\n

The ball is headed clear in the Belgium box and falls to Berhalter, whose lovely shot is inches wide of Courtois’ post. <\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:39Pepi comes on <\/p>\n

Pochettino tries to revive the hosts’ attack by bringing on Ricardo Pepi.<\/p>\n

That third Belgium goal has really killed their momentum.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:35Enter Lukaku and Doku<\/p>\n

De Ketelaere and Lukebakio come off, the former with a famous brace.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:32 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Freese makes a mess of it. Credit: Artur Marcarian, Reuters<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:28Pulisic comes off<\/p>\n

A further blow for USA as their star player comes off injured.<\/p>\n

He’s replaced by Berhalter.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:21GOAL! Belgium extend their lead!<\/p>\n

Disaster for USA!<\/p>\n

Freese deserts the posts to clear the ball but misses it completely. It falls to Vanaken who slots it home.<\/p>\n

Shambolic defending from the hosts.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:20Pulisic pipped to the ball<\/p>\n

Pulisic is about to shoot from the edge of the box when Tielemans gets a foot in front.<\/p>\n

The American wants a foul but the referee waves him away.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:15A brighter start for USA<\/p>\n

The hosts are at least showing more intent.<\/p>\n

07\/07\/2026 – 03:12We’re off again!<\/p>\n

Reyna is on for Dest, who has not had a good game.<\/p>\n

\n 07\/07\/2026 – 03:02Belgium’s tribute to Magritte<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home Sport Issued on: 07\/07\/2026 – 01:06Modified: 07\/07\/2026 – 04:45 1 min Reading time Charles De Ketelaere scored…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,381,5731,499,4737,1857,2833,3206,13922],"class_list":["post-27310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-belgium","tag-belgium","tag-donald-trump","tag-fifa","tag-football","tag-gianni-infantino","tag-sport","tag-usa","tag-world-cup-2026","tag-world-cup-2026-live"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116882025027914579","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}