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Belgium defeated the United States 4-1 on Monday in the round of 16 of the , eliminating the host team from the tournament they are organizing and completing the exit of all three host nations from the championship.
The match started with Belgian dominance right from the beginning. Charles De Ketelaere opened the scoring in the ninth minute, and after a temporary equalizer from Malik Tillman in the 31st minute, De Ketelaere responded just two minutes later to restore the lead for his team before halftime. The American reaction never came: Hans Vanaken, who had entered in the 21st minute for Onana, extended the lead in the 57th minute, and Romelu Lukaku capped off the rout in stoppage time to seal the 4-1 victory.
The statistics clearly reflect why Belgium won: although the United States had greater possession (56% to 44%), the Belgians generated twice as many shots (14 to seven) and tripled the shots on target (six to two). The Americans accumulated 11 fouls and received two yellow cards —McKennie in the 35' and Tillman in the 69'— while Belgium did not receive any cards.
Folarin Balogun, the top scorer for the United States in the tournament with four goals, played in the match following the controversy of the FIFA's revocation of his red card, which overturned the sanction on Sunday after President Donald Trump called the head of the organization, Gianni Infantino. Balogun did not score.
The defeat of the United States marks the end of an unprecedented chapter in World Cup history: for the first time, all three host countries of a single tournament have been eliminated before the quarter-finals. Canada was the first to fall; Mexico lost 3-2 to England on Saturday at the Estadio Ciudad de México; and now the United States falls in its own home. The quarter-finals will be held in Dallas and Los Angeles, but without the home team.
For Belgium, the victory also carries a sense of historical revenge: they had previously eliminated the United States in the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a 2-0 win in extra time, and in March of this year, they had defeated them 5-2 in a friendly match in Atlanta.
With this result, Belgium advances to the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, while the team led by Mauricio Pochettino concludes its participation in the tournament it hosted, unable to replicate the feat of Korea-Japan 2002, which was the last time the United States advanced past a knockout stage.
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