De Ketelaere Runs Riot as Belgium Crush USA 4-1 to End the Co-Hosts' World Cup
The United States' home World Cup ended in bruising fashion in Seattle, where Belgium tore through Mauricio Pochettino's side 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals — and Charles De Ketelaere delivered the kind of performance tournaments are remembered by.
De Ketelaere struck inside ten minutes, setting a tone the Americans never truly answered. Malik Tillman briefly levelled with a free kick, but De Ketelaere restored Belgium's lead with his second before the game swung decisively on an American error: goalkeeper Matt Freese's mistake in the 57th minute gifted Belgium a third. Romelu Lukaku, the evergreen spearhead of this golden-generation side, added the fourth in stoppage time.
For the co-hosts, the defeat lands hard. A nation that had invested enormous hope in a deep home run — and had seen encouraging signs in a group-stage campaign topped with wins over Paraguay and Australia — instead exits in the round of 16, the same stage that has repeatedly marked the ceiling of American men's football. The manner of the loss, as much as the fact of it, will fuel the post-mortem.
The tie was not without controversy before a ball was kicked. The buildup was dominated by the extraordinary intervention of President Trump, who lobbied FIFA president Gianni Infantino to lift a red-card suspension on US striker Folarin Balogun — a suspension FIFA duly set aside, to fury across the football world. In the end, no favour could save the Americans from Belgium's quality.
Belgium march on to a heavyweight quarter-final against Spain in Los Angeles, their blend of experience and firepower looking ever more like that of a genuine contender. For the USA, the soul-searching begins — again.
