World Cup 2026 · 2026-07-06

De Ketelaere Dismantles the Dream: Belgium Rout Co-Hosts USA 4-1 to Set Up Spain Quarter-Final

Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and Romelu Lukaku added a late fourth as Belgium produced their most complete performance of the tournament — routing the United States 4-1 at Lumen Field and eliminating the American co-hosts from the 2026 World Cup.

The United States arrived at Lumen Field in Seattle as co-hosts who had fought for everything they had earned — surviving a red-card controversy against Bosnia, grinding past DR Congo with ten men, bringing one of the most passionate home crowds in the tournament's history. Belgium arrived with an experienced squad, a point to prove, and Charles De Ketelaere in the kind of form that ends World Cups early. From the ninth minute, it was Belgium's night.

De Ketelaere opened the scoring with a composed tap-in from Nicolas Raskin's pass across the face of goal. Malik Tillman pulled the USA level in the 31st minute with a free-kick that deflected in off the wall. The equaliser lasted 56 seconds. De Ketelaere rose at the back post to head home a Leandro Trossard cross, and Belgium led again before the stadium had fully processed the American goal. At 2-1 approaching half-time, the tie had already turned.

Hans Vanaken made it three shortly after the hour mark when goalkeeper Matt Freese, under pressure outside his own box, lost the ball and De Ketelaere laid it into Vanaken's path for a simple finish. Romelu Lukaku completed the rout in stoppage time — drifting in to sweep home the fourth goal, exactly 12 years after he had scored the winner against the United States at the 2014 World Cup. The symmetry was not lost on anyone watching.

Belgium advance to face Spain in the quarter-final on July 10 in Los Angeles — an all-European clash between two of the deepest and most tactically sophisticated squads left in the tournament. For the United States, co-hosting the expanded 48-team World Cup ends in the Round of 16. The occasion was historic, the atmosphere was extraordinary, and on the night Belgium were simply too good.

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