World Cup 2026 co-hosts the United States have been knocked out of the tournament following a 4-1 defeat to Belgium in Seattle.
It comes despite an intervention by US President Donald Trump, who took credit for getting FIFA to review a red card issued against USA star forward Folarin Balogun.
FIFA lifted his suspension for Monday’s round of 16 match, but ultimately, his presence on the pitch did little to secure a spot in the quarter finals for the United States.
In an apparent reference the decision after what Trump described as a phone call with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the Belgian national men’s team shared photos of their triumphant players on X with the caption: “Overturn this.”
The team also appeared to dance in a similar style to President Trump following their fourth goal against the United States.
Belgium opened the scoring in the ninth minute, with Charles De Ketelaere capitalising on some sloppy defending to tap in a pass deep in the box.
The hosts looked outpaced early, but relieved some pressure at the half-hour mark when a Malik Tillman free kick made a slight deflection off the wall and sent Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois the wrong way.
The raucous crowd was quietened just minutes later however, with De Ketelaere nabbing his second goal through a perfectly headed cross in the six-yard box.
The Americans looked energised following the half-time break, enjoying a wealth of possession in the early stages but struggled to generate any real threatening chances.
Their task got more difficult in the 57th minute when Belgium made the most of an unforced error.
US goalkeeper Matt Freese came way off his line to meet a long ball but his attempted kick only found the turf, with the ball instead ending up in the possession of Hans Vanaken, whose shot beat defender Tim Ream and gave Belgium some breathing room.
The US were desperate to claw one back, and substitute Sebastian Berhalter almost did just that with a shot from deep which just barely whizzed past the left post.
His attempt generated some much-needed momentum for the US, who spent most of the final stages of the match camped in their attacking third but could not find the back of the net.
A Romelu Lukaku goal in added time was ultimately the dagger in the heart for the US, with Belgium progressing to a quarter-final clash with Spain.
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia told fifa.com after the game: “To everyone who got up in the middle of the night to support us, I’d like to say a huge thank you.
“They should be happy and proud of their players today. We showed that Belgium is a great football nation.”
US coach Mauricio Pochettino said: “It was really tough from the beginning. We congratulate Belgium, they were better than us. It wasn’t our day.
“We need to learn, we need to assess the game and understand why we did not approach the game in the same way we did as we did in the rest of the World Cup.”
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