USA 1-4 Belgium: De Ketelaere 9, 33, Vanaken 57, Lukaku 90+3
After the efforts of USA, and Donald Trump, to bring Folarin Balogun back in the side in the most contentious manner possible following a controversial red card, Belgium showed it did not matter and dealt the co-hosts a treatment many observers all over the world will regard as justice.
The European side have not been particularly great in this tournament, but they were risen to fury when it was revealed that Donald Trump had placed three calls to Fifa to have Balogun’s one-match suspension cancelled.
Head coach Rudi Garcia called it an April Fools’ joke and vowed his side would “defend football” in Seattle when they faced the USA. Captain Youri Tielemans said after the game they had done just that. “We told ourselves we needed to do our talking on the pitch,” he said. “That’s what we did today. I’m very proud of the team.”
Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere scored twice around the opening half hour, giving his side the lead and then providing the perfect response two minutes after a USA equaliser through Malik Tillman’s deflected freekick that wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois.
Leandro Trossard collected a long pass and worked the ball into the area, where De Ketelaere escaped his markers to tap in from close range as early as the ninth minute. The equaliser arrived against the run of play just after the half-hour mark when Balogun earned a freekick on the edge of the penalty area and Tillman took it.
It took a big deflection as Hans Vanaken tried but failed to head it away, wrong-footing Courtois on its way into the net. But Belgium soon restored their advantage after Trossard again found room down the left before delivering a cross that De Ketelaere met with a header.
Belgium still maintained control in the second half but matters moved from bad to worse for USA after goalkeeper Matt Freese ran outside his penalty area to meet a long ball, but then failed to clear after controlling it on his chest. He was dispossessed and Vanaken found the corner from distance.
USA barely got a foot in here, a long-distance shot that flew wide being their next best opportunity as Belgium kept a vice-like grip on proceedings, before Romelu Lukaku found the net once more in stoppage time to pile misery on the co-hosts.
