USMNT Eliminated From World Cup After 4-1 Loss to Belgium

Belgium beat the USMNT 4-1 at Lumen Field in Seattle, eliminating the co-hosts in the World Cup Round of 16; Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and Malik Tillman got the lone U.S. goal.

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uristocrat

July 7, 2026 2 min read

USMNT Eliminated From World Cup After 4-1 Loss to Belgium — Belgium beat the USMNT 4-1 at Lumen Field to end the co-hosts' World Cup run. Photo: Yahoo Sports

Key Points

Belgium beat the USMNT 4-1 at Lumen Field, eliminating the co-hosts from the World Cup.
Charles De Ketelaere scored twice; Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku added the others.
Malik Tillman's 30th-minute free kick was the USMNT's only goal.
Folarin Balogun, cleared to play by FIFA's reprieve, started but made little impact.

The United States' home World Cup ended in the Round of 16 on Monday, with Belgium winning 4-1 at Lumen Field in Seattle. The co-hosts' run — which had carried real momentum into the knockout rounds — unraveled against a Belgium side that was sharper in both boxes and now advances to face Spain in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Belgium struck early through Charles De Ketelaere, who tapped in a Nicolas Raskin cross in the 9th minute. The U.S. answered in the 30th when a Malik Tillman free kick deflected off Hans Vanaken's head and past Thibaut Courtois for a brief 1-1 equalizer — but the reprieve lasted two minutes. De Ketelaere headed in a Leandro Trossard cross in the 32nd to restore the lead, Vanaken made it 3-1 in the 58th, finishing from distance after goalkeeper Matt Freese erred outside his box, and Romelu Lukaku finished the rout in stoppage time after a Chris Richards giveaway in the penalty area.

The ending was quieter than the week that preceded it. The build-up had been consumed by FIFA's decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's red-card ban — a reprieve that reached the White House and drew a UEFA rebuke — but the striker at the center of it started and was barely a factor. After the 10-man win over Bosnia that got the U.S. here and a home tie in Seattle it was favored to survive, the campaign closed on two individual defensive errors that turned a live game into a four-goal margin. For a program using this tournament as a springboard, elimination at home in the last 16 is a flat, early exit from its own party.

Update (July 9): Even in defeat, the match set a record: Fox's broadcast averaged 33.1 million viewers, the most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history.

Source: Yahoo Sports.