Belgium secured a place in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup by beating the United States 4-1, this Monday (6), at Lumen Field, in Seattle. The highlight of the match was striker Charles De Ketelaere, who scored two goals in the Europeans' victory.
Belgium thrashes the USA and advances to the quarter-finals of the World Cup
Belgium secured a place in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup by beating the United States 4-1, this Monday (6), at Lumen Field, in Seattle. The highlight of the match was striker Charles De Ketelaere, who scored...
The Belgian team opened the scoring after just nine minutes, when De Ketelaere took advantage of a well-worked move on the left to find the net. The North Americans reacted at 31, with a beautiful free kick from Malik Tillman, but equality was short-lived. Two minutes later, De Ketelaere scored again, this time with a header, giving Belgium the lead before the break.
In the second stage, the United States tried to press in search of a draw, but made a decisive error. Goalkeeper Matt Freese hesitated when trying to clear a ball outside the box, was disarmed by De Ketelaere, and Hans Vanaken took advantage of the mistake to score the Belgian's third goal.
In stoppage time, Romelu Lukaku closed the scoring after taking advantage of a ball recovery in the attacking field. With the goal, the striker made history as the first player to score from the bench in three matches in the same edition of the World Cup.
The classification came in a game surrounded by controversy. Belgium entered the field under protest after FIFA provisionally suspended the punishment of striker Folarin Balogun, from the United States. Sent off in the previous match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he had his one-game ban suspended for a one-year probationary period and was released to play.
Balogun started as a starter and participated in the play that led to the American goal, when he suffered the foul that resulted in the shot being converted by Tillman. However, the striker, top scorer for the United States team in the tournament, was unable to prevent the team's elimination.
With the victory, Belgium returns to the quarterfinals of a World Cup for the first time since 2018, when they finished the competition in third place. Now, the Belgians will face Spain, who eliminated Portugal 1-0. The quarter-final clash will be played on Friday (10), in Inglewood, California.
Portugal loses to Spain and is out of the World Cup
Mikel Merino's goal resolved the game in Dallas in stoppage time. Portugal is out of the World Cup, failing to achieve its desire to go far in the competition
Source: Noticias ao Minuto - Ultima Hora
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