Balogun reprieve in vain as Belgium beat USA to set up Spain quarterfinal

Folarin Balogun’s starting place, after a suspended red card, is unable to influence USA, who succumb to superior Belgium.Matt Freese of the United States reacts after Belgium's third goal scored by Hans Vanaken of Belgium [Luke Hales/Getty Images via AFP)Published On 7 Jul 2026Belgium dumped USA out of their own World Cup on Monday, as Charles De Ketelaere’s brace secured a 4-1 win that was eclipsed by the bitter row over Folarin Balogun’s ban.Victory means the Belgians face Spain in the quarterfinals, while the USA follow the other World Cup cohosts, Canada and Mexico, out of the tournament with elimination in the round of 16 after a thoroughly flat performance.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trevor Noah mocks Trump-FIFA World Cup red card controversylist 2 of 4‘Gave it my all’: Ronaldo confirms World Cup exit after six tournamentslist 3 of 4All to know about Ronaldo’s World Cup career as it ends in Spain losslist 4 of 4Late Spain goal eliminates Portugal, ends Ronaldo’s international career?end of listAll attention pre-game had been on Balogun’s place in the USA starting lineup, after US President Donald Trump had asked FIFA to review the striker’s one-game suspension for a red card, and the governing body controversially obliged.Belgium’s starting lineup had a few surprises of its own, with Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku among the heavyweights benched. But coach Rudi Garcia’s gambit proved inspired, with De Ketelaere grabbing an early goal to puncture the feel-good vibes in Seattle.Malik Tillman grabbed one back from a free kick, but De Ketelaere swiftly restored Belgium’s lead. A catastrophic piece of goalkeeping by Matt Freese and a late Romelu Lukaku goal left the Americans dead and buried.FIFA’s move to suspend Balogun’s ban after he was sent off in the previous round against Bosnia and Herzegovina has been slammed by football fans, pundits and players around the world, but there were no such misgivings among the Seattle crowd.A colossal roar greeted the stadium announcement of Balogun’s name in the starting lineup, vastly dwarfing the cheers even for USA talisman Christian Pulisic.The “USA” thunderclap then echoed around the stadium, utterly drowning out a small corner of chanting Belgium fans in the opening minutes.But the American party was swiftly silenced. The majority of 67,000 fans fell silent in the ninth minute as De Ketelaere scored, easily tapping home from close range after Nicolas Raskin’s cross evaded some lax defending.It was the first time the Americans had conceded the opener all tournament. With the atmosphere deflated, no immediate fightback was visible on the pitch either. The midfield was outgunned, and the defence looked nervous.On the half-hour mark, Balogun drew a foul on the edge of the area and whipped the crowd back to life. He waved his arms frantically as Tillman – fresh from scoring a free kick against Bosnia – lined up the ball.Tillman’s shot deflected off the Belgian wall and spun into the net, and the stadium shook.But the joy was again short-lived. In the 33rd minute, De Ketelaere leapt up to meet Leandro Trossard’s cross, and comfortably out-jumped an off-balance Tim Ream to score his second.The US inched back into the game as the first half closed out, with Balogun blasting over from a long Tillman throw, then narrowly failing to catch a long ball, again from the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder.US coach Mauricio Pochettino switched formation at half-time, sending Gio Reyna into the number 10 role and pushing Weston McKennie out to the right. The Americans resumed play with more intensity, pushing higher up the pitch.But self-inflicted disaster struck in the 57th minute. Freese came out to collect a Belgium long ball, turned to evade the charging De Ketelaere, but then hesitated with his pass.De Ketelaere jabbed the ball to Hans Vanaken, who made no mistake with an open goal from long range.Pulisic limped off with an injury minutes later, and with him went the US dreams of reaching a first World Cup quarterfinal since 2002.His replacement, Sebastian Berhalter, flashed an ambitious shot narrowly wide in the 79th minute, and Balogun had a close-range effort saved soon after.But Chris Richards handed the ball to Lukaku in stoppage time, and the veteran striker did not hesitate to seal the rout.