Belgium Crush United States 4-1 to Reach World Cup Quarterfinals

The United States' World Cup run came to an end in the Round of 16 on Tuesday, as Belgium cruised to a 4-1 win at Seattle Stadium, handing the Americans yet another early knockout-stage exit at their own tournament.

Charles De Ketelaere scored twice, Hans Vanaken added a third after a costly mistake from U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese, and substitute Romelu Lukaku wrapped things up in stoppage time. It marks the fourth time in the last five World Cups the U.S. has gone out at this stage, with 2018 the only exception, and that came because the team failed to qualify altogether.

Folarin Balogun started up front for the U.S. after FIFA suspended the automatic one-game ban tied to his red card from the previous round, a decision that had dominated headlines all week. But the striker, who had scored three goals and forced an own-goal in the tournament before Tuesday, struggled to get involved and never seriously threatened Belgium's goal.

Belgium set the tone from the opening whistle. Timothy Castagne forced an early save out of Freese, and in the ninth minute, Nicolas Raskin slid a pass across the box that De Ketelaere tapped home for the opener. The U.S. responded in the 31st minute when Malik Tillman's free kick took a heavy deflection off the Belgian wall and looped past Thibaut Courtois, a goal that made Tillman only the second player in 60 years to score two free kicks at a single World Cup. 

The celebration didn't last long. Just under a minute later, Belgium restored their lead when Leandro Trossard's cross from the left found De Ketelaere again, and he headed it in to make it 2-1 at the break.

The U.S. couldn't build any real momentum after halftime. Sergiño Dest had been struggled with all game and was pulled at the interval, while Christian Pulisic, who had given the ball away repeatedly in the first half, was eventually forced off with an injury in the second. 

Belgium made the U.S. pay for a defensive lapse midway through the half, when Freese came out of his area to collect a through ball, hesitated, and knocked it straight to Vanaken. The Belgian midfielder fired it back toward goal from around 30 yards, and it slipped through as Tim Ream twisted trying to block it, making it 3-1. Lukaku added a fourth in stoppage time, finishing off another American giveaway to put a firm stamp on the result.

By the Numbers

The U.S. actually led in several team-wide categories, holding possession for roughly 56 to 57 percent of the match and completing well over 100 more passes than Belgium at a sharper accuracy rate. But none of it translated into real danger going forward. Belgium doubled up the Americans in shots, finishing with 15 to the U.S.'s 6 or 7 depending on the count, and put around seven efforts on target compared with just two for the U.S. Belgium's expected-goals number came in well over 2, versus under 1 for the Americans, reflecting how often Belgium got into dangerous areas of the box.

The U.S. also had a rough morning in the categories that decide knockout games. They committed three costly errors that led directly to goals, something Belgium avoided entirely, and picked up two yellow cards to Belgium's zero. Corners, crossing accuracy and touches in the penalty area all tilted toward Belgium as well, even in stretches when the U.S. had most of the ball.

Individually, De Ketelaere was the night's best player by a wide margin, scoring twice and setting up Vanaken's goal with a clean, efficient performance in the final third. Raskin controlled tempo early and had a hand in the opener, while Vanaken and Lukaku both made instant impacts off the bench. For the U.S., Tillman's goal and overall link-up play stood out as one of the few bright spots, and fullback Alex Freeman was steady defensively, but it wasn't nearly enough to offset the rest of the performance.

What it Means

The loss ends the American co-host bid at the tournament, following Mexico's exit to England and Canada's defeat to Morocco earlier in the week, and leaves the U.S. still searching for a first World Cup quarterfinal appearance since 2002. 

Belgium advances to face Spain in the quarterfinals in Los Angeles on Friday, with Spain having beaten Portugal 1-0 in their own last-16 match