SEATTLE (AP) 鈥� Shortly after scored the goal that capped a , Belgium’s all-time leading goal scorer held his right hand to his ear.
On American soil, and in the aftermath of star U.S. forward Folarin Balogun being permitted to play after a , Lukaku egged on the crowd of 66,925 at Lumen Field. The Red Devils then took to social media in light of what they considered no laughing matter, posting above the photo the words: 鈥淥verturn this.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 always a justice somewhere in life,鈥� Belgian midfielder Nicolas Raskin said. 鈥淭he fact that something happened like that, we don鈥檛 think that was fair. And today, I think it just brings us a little bit of (motivation) that we needed to win the game.鈥�
The about the decision to let Balogun play. Many of Belgium鈥檚 players, though, insisted they didn鈥檛 need any additional motivation for Monday鈥檚 match.
Belgium extended its unbeaten streak to 18 games, and .
American players including defender Alex Freeman entered the evening wanting revenge for 2014, and for a . Belgium captain Youri Tielemans and company had other ideas, and collectively turned in a clinical performance.
鈥淲e put in a lot of intensity, there was quality too,鈥� Tielemans said. 鈥淒efensively, we were really compact. We tried to put them under pressure and it really worked out for us. We scored at the right moments, too.鈥�
Though Lukaku put the finishing touches on the win, it was not Belgium鈥檚 so-called 鈥淕olden Generation鈥� that propelled the side to victory. J茅r茅my Doku didn’t start for the Red Devils, and Kevin De Bruyne never came off the bench.
Rather than Lukaku or De Bruyne, the two most accomplished scorers in Belgian national team history, it was Charles De Ketelaere who tallied a brace. De Ketelaere considered the showing his greatest yet for the Red Devils, whose four goals were the most the U.S. had allowed in a World Cup game since a 5-1 loss to Czechoslovakia in 1990.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great feeling to put out this performance in this game and to go through,鈥� De Ketelaere said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing for the team and for the country.鈥�
Hans Vanaken also scored for Belgium, which went quite close to not advancing to the round of 16 in the first place. To even play the U.S. required .
The Red Devils were shaky at the beginning of the tournament, settling for draws against Iran and Egypt. If not for , Belgium may have failed to get out of the group stage, just as it came up short four years ago in Qatar.
鈥淚 think we could (have done) much better in the group phase,鈥� midfielder Dodi Luk茅bakio said. 鈥淏ut, we grew. Today, we are showing that we have more confidence. And with the results, it helps us a lot. And, we are showing our quality, definitely.鈥�
The Red Devils next play on Friday at Inglewood, California, for a semifinal berth against France or Morocco.
They will do so without midfielder Amadou Onana, who coach Rudi Garcia said sustained a 鈥渟erious injury鈥� while marking U.S. forward Christian Pulisic in the 19th minute. Vanaken replaced Onana in the 21st minute.
Aside from Onana鈥檚 injury, which Garcia referred to as a 鈥渄ark cloud鈥� that hung over the team, it was Belgium鈥檚 night. Considering the build-up to the game, which included President Donald Trump , it made the victory that much sweeter.
鈥淥ur job was to show on the pitch that we are here for football,鈥� Tielemans said. 鈥淭hat decision was out of our hands, and we just had to talk on the field. And, we did that today.鈥�
Veteran goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois apparently wasn’t upset by the pre-match drama.
鈥淚 read things and I laughed,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was more sure of beating the USA than Senegal, because Senegal is a better soccer team than the United States鈥�
___
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
