In the FIFA World Cup 2026, Belgium has made it to the quarter-finals with a spectacular 4-1 victory over America. Charles de Keteler scored two goals. With this defeat, host America is out of the tournament. Now Belgium will face Spain.
Belgium booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with an impressive 4-1 win over the United States at the Seattle Stadium. The hero of this victory was Charles de Keteler, who scored two goals, while Romelu Lukaku also scored one goal.
According to FIFA, Lukaku has scored for the first time in his career in his third consecutive FIFA World Cup match, while De Ketteler was named player of the match for his two-goal performance.
De Ketteler scored two goals, Hans Vanaken scored his first World Cup goal, and Lukaku came off the bench and scored the fourth goal in stoppage time. With this victory, Belgium has fixed its quarter-final match against Spain.
With this defeat, America’s exit from the tournament was also confirmed. The United States became the third and last co-host nation to be eliminated, after Canada and Mexico were eliminated in the Round of 16.
Belgium’s dominance in the match
Belgium adopted an aggressive approach from the beginning. Timothy Kasten forced an early save from U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese, after which Youri Tielemans missed Dodi Lukebakio’s cross on goal.
Belgium’s first breakthrough came when Leandro Trossard delivered a dangerous ball into the penalty area, causing confusion in the American defense. Nicholas Ruskin passed the ball in front of the goal, which De Ketteler put into the goal from close range to give the team the lead.
The United States equalized in the 31st minute when Malik Tillman’s deflected free-kick beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
However, Belgium retook the lead in less than two minutes. Trossard delivered another cross from the left, on which De Ketteler scored his second goal of the match with a header.
The flow of goals continued in the second half also
Belgium further strengthened their lead just before the completion of an hour of the match. The goal was caused by a costly mistake by American goalkeeper Freese, who came out of his penalty area but failed to clear the ball. De Ketteler took advantage of this mistake and passed to Vanaken, who fired a long-range shot into the empty goal. Tim Ream tried to stop it but did not succeed.
The United States tried to mount a comeback in the final moments of the match, but substitute Sebastian Berhalter’s shot went wide and Courtois converted two efforts from Folarin Balogun. However, in stoppage time, Lukaku calmly put the ball into the goal after a powerful solo run to seal Belgium’s victory.
Belgium will now face Spain at the Los Angeles Stadium on July 10. Spain has made it to the quarter-finals by defeating Portugal in the Round of 16. (ANI)
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