Match report
De Ketelaere brace fires Belgium past USA into World Cup quarter-finals
Belgium beat USA 4-1 at Lumen Field in the Round of 16 of the World Cup, ending the hosts' run despite Mauricio Pochettino's side enjoying more of the ball. Rudi Garcia's team made home advantage count for nothing, taking control early and never relinquishing it.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Charles De Ketelaere put Belgium ahead in the 9th minute, finishing an assist from Nicolas Raskin. USA levelled through Malik Tillman in the 31st minute, but De Ketelaere restored the lead just two minutes later, converting a Leandro Trossard assist to make it 2-1 at the interval.
The second half brought little respite for the hosts. Hans Vanaken extended the advantage in the 57th minute, teeing off De Ketelaere's assist, before Romelu Lukaku added a fourth deep into stoppage time, finishing off a move started by Vanaken to complete the scoring at 4-1.
Belgium's dominance was underlined by the underlying numbers even as USA held 56% of possession. The away side had 14 shots to USA's seven and out-scored them heavily in expected goals, reflecting the clinical edge De Ketelaere and his teammates showed in front of goal.
Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and set up another for Vanaken, finishing with a rating of 8.3 to lead all performers on the night.
Despite USA holding 56% of possession, Belgium's 2.1 expected goals to USA's 0.64 told the story of a far more incisive attacking performance.
Belgium won 4–1 away against USA (half-time 1–2).
USA met Belgium in the World Cup (Round of 16). Kick-off was Tuesday, 7 July 2026, 00:00 UTC at Lumen Field. Referee: Adham Mohammad.
Key moments
- 9' Goal: Charles De Ketelaere (assist: Nicolas Raskin) — 0–1 · Watch Charles De Ketelaere's goal video (9')
- 31' Goal: Malik Tillman — 1–1 · Watch Malik Tillman's goal video (31')
- 33' Goal: Charles De Ketelaere (assist: Leandro Trossard) — 1–2 · Watch Charles De Ketelaere's goal video (33')
- 57' Goal: Hans Vanaken (assist: Charles De Ketelaere) — 1–3 · Watch Hans Vanaken's goal video (57')
- 90+3' Goal: Romelu Lukaku (assist: Hans Vanaken) — 1–4 · Watch Romelu Lukaku's goal video (90+3')
Starting line-ups
USA (4-3-3)
Belgium (4-2-3-1)
What the press said
🚨🇧🇪 Perfect night for Belgium to fly World Cup quarter finals with De Ketelaere show! 🍿 USA are out of the World Cup. ❌🇺🇸 Who’s been your Man of the Match? https://t.co/eFGQwIoMIa
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FT: USA 1 Belgium 4. Belgium comfortably into the QFs thanks to a Charles De Ketelaere's first-half brace, a Hans Vanaken goal from Matt Freese's error and a late injury time goal from Romelu Lukaku. A defensively poor display by the US with the main bright spark Malik Tillman's first-half deflected free-kick. US could only hold on at 1-1 for two minutes. So much momentum after winning their group, and credit to the players for that, but this was a flat way to bow out. Sebastian Berhalter came close to getting one back from long range, while Flo Balogun saw a powerful near-post shot saved by an untroubled Thibaut Courtois. Belgium never really tested. Rudi Garcia got his tactics spot on, while his players showed strong game management. Looks like the narrow win over Senegal from 2-0 down in the R32 was a wake up call for them.🇺🇸🇧🇪
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About this match
On this page: the USA vs Belgium final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this World Cup fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Charles De Ketelaere's goal against USA (9').
- Watch Malik Tillman's goal against Belgium (31').
- Watch Charles De Ketelaere's goal against USA (33').
- Watch Hans Vanaken's goal against USA (57').
- Watch Romelu Lukaku's goal against USA (90+3').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from USA 1–4 Belgium. Explore more on the USA and Belgium team pages or the World Cup page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of USA vs Belgium?
Belgium won 4–1 away against USA (half-time 1–2).
›Who scored in USA vs Belgium?
Charles De Ketelaere (9') for Belgium; Malik Tillman (31') for USA; Charles De Ketelaere (33') for Belgium; Hans Vanaken (57') for Belgium; Romelu Lukaku (90+3') for Belgium.
›Where can I watch USA vs Belgium highlights?
Goal highlights and video clips from USA 1–4 Belgium are on this page — open the videos tab to watch every goal.
›What is the head-to-head record between USA and Belgium?
USA and Belgium have met 1 time — 0 wins for USA, 1 win for Belgium and 0 draws.