Related videos:
The Embassy of Belgium in Vietnam turned a sports celebration into a diplomatic coup.
A few hours after the Red Devils defeated 4-1 against the United States this Tuesday in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, the Belgian team posted a message on their official Facebook account that mixed football euphoria with a direct jab at President Donald Trump.
The message that no one expected from an embassy
The text, written in English and Vietnamese, began by celebrating the triumph:
"The victory belongs to the Belgian national team! What an exciting match against the USA: both teams gave their all! And we could feel it: Vietnam was also cheering for us."
The reference pointed directly to the scandal from the previous days.
Trump had personally called the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, to request a review of the red card that prevented forward Folarin Balogun from playing.
FIFA revoked the sanction on July 5, in an unprecedented decision in the history of the World Cup.
The president himself acknowledged the call from the Oval Office: "So yes, I requested a review from FIFA."
Despite all the maneuvering, Balogun played but did not score.
Charles De Ketelaere opened the scoring in the ninth minute, Malik Tillman equalized for the U.S. in the 31st, De Ketelaere scored again in the 33rd, Hans Vanaken increased the lead in the 57th, and Romelu Lukaku capped off the rout in stoppage time.
The Belgians recorded 14 shots compared to seven by the Americans.
Why does Vietnamese support have historical irony?
The phrase about the Vietnamese support was not just a simple picturesque detail: it carries decades of history.
The Vietnam War (1955-1975), known in that country as the "Resistance War Against the United States," left over three million Vietnamese dead and impacted whole generations. The U.S. withdrew in 1973, and Vietnam unified under a communist flag in 1975.
Although both countries normalized relations in 1995 and are now strategic partners, the collective memory of the conflict remains vivid in Vietnamese society.
That the Belgian embassy publicly celebrated this popular support—in a match where the U.S. was the home team and host of the tournament—adds a layer of political and historical significance that is hard to overlook.
The Trump-Infantino controversy as a backdrop
The scandal surrounding the overturning of Balogun's red card had shaken the football world for days. The UEFA described the action as "unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable."
The former FIFA president Joseph Blatter was more direct: "Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls."
Infantino defended his stance arguing that "the judicial bodies of FIFA are independent" and that the decision was made based on the regulations. Trump, on the other hand, expressed gratitude for the resolution and described it as a correction of "a great injustice."
The Belgian celebration after the final whistle added another chapter to the episode: Lukaku and his teammates imitated Trump's signature dance to the tune of "YMCA," in a gesture that went viral worldwide.
Belgium advances to the quarter-finals, where it will face Spain on July 10 at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
With the elimination of the U.S. in Seattle, an unprecedented event also occurred: for the first time in history, all three host countries of a single World Cup —the U.S., Mexico, and Canada— were eliminated before the quarter-finals.
Filed under: