The United States’ World Cup campaign was brought to a screeching halt in Seattle last night by a Belgian team that played as if it had extra motivation after the Folarin Balogun affair. The Red Devils, angered by FIFA’s decision to reinstate the U.S. striker after he received a red card in the previous round, delighted in trolling their hosts during and after the match.
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Today, we’ll find out which final two teams make the quarterfinals. Will Lionel Messi have another indelible performance? Our NBC News team is live-blogging the games. Don’t miss out!
World Cup Recap
The U.S. kicked off its round of 16 match against Belgium in high spirits, boosted by the return of its top goal scorer at the tournament in Balogun. But the 4-1 defeat that followed was a brutal reminder that it is still playing catch-up against the world’s elite teams.
In truth, the U.S. spurned a golden opportunity to reach its first quarterfinals since the Landon Donovan team of 2002, facing a Belgian side that had struggled in the tournament so far and that had left three headline players — Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Romelu Lukaku — on the bench to start the game.
Where was the verve from the previous matches? The U.S. played like it was weighed down by the controversy over the suspension of Balogun’s red card. Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and assisted on another goal as the U.S. defense crumbled. Goalkeeper Matt Freese had a game to forget.
Malik Tillman did score to make it 1-1 in the first half, but the Americans conceded a goal shortly after that. Hans Vanaken made it 3-1 in the 57th minute after Freese lost control of the ball. Lukaku came off the bench and scored in stoppage time. It was his 93rd international goal, and he became the first player to score as a substitute in four different World Cup matches.
“Today, we were not the same team in the tournament that showed our quality,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said after the match. For the U.S., it goes out again in the round of 16, a disappointing end to a tournament that started with such promise.
The Belgian team reveled in its success. “Overturn this,” it posted on social media, alongside images of Lukaku’s goal, cupping his ear to the Seattle crowd. During the match, Lukaku led his teammates in a group imitation of President Donald Trump’s trademark “Y.M.C.A.” dance.
The Red Devils play 2010 champion Spain on Friday at Inglewood, California, for a semifinal berth against France or Morocco.
Meanwhile, Spain defeated Portugal 1-0, and Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed he has played his last World Cup match. He retires without a World Cup title or a World Cup final appearance to his name. Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon reached 519 minutes without conceding at the World Cup, breaking the record of Italy’s Walter Zenga.
World Cup Preview
The last two round of 16 games are today, including Switzerland against Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Mohamed Salah’s Egypt squaring off in Atlanta.
The Pharaohs earned their first World Cup victory by beating New Zealand 3-1 in the group stage. They got their first knockout stage win by beating Australia on penalties.
Messi has scored seven goals in the tournament, the same as Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, in the race for the Golden Boot. Messi has also scored in a record eight straight World Cup matches, dating back to Argentina’s 2022 title run.
Despite playing against Argentina, the defending champs, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said: “We’re no underdogs. We’re big in every respect. We are a civilization that is 7,000 years old, even more than 7,000 years.”
What We’re Watching
World Cup! All the games are on Telemundo and Peacock, and all times are Eastern:
- 12 p.m.: Argentina vs. Egypt
- 4 p.m.: Switzerland vs Colombia
That’s it for now! We’ll be back tomorrow.
