De Ketelaere double sends Belgium past United States 4-1 in World Cup showdown

Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in the first half and Belgium beat the United States 4-1 at Lumen Field in Seattle, turning a knockout match into a blunt lesson in spacing and timing. Belgium advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals, and the U.S. left the tournament after another round of 16 exit.

The decisive stretch started early, when De Ketelaere opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Malik Tillman answered for the United States in the 31st minute with a deflected free kick, but Belgium needed only 61 seconds to retake control. Leandro Trossard drove at the U.S. back line and curled in a punishing cross, and De Ketelaere met it with a header to make it 2-1 before the Americans could settle.

Belgium kept finding the same opening, with Trossard isolated on the flank and De Ketelaere arriving into the box with an edge in the air. The U.S. never solved the movement, and Belgium kept turning those repeated mismatches into pressure that the Americans could not clear. Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku added the other goals as Belgium stretched the margin to 4-1 and closed out a lopsided finish. The result sent Belgium to a third straight World Cup quarterfinal and set up a meeting with Spain on Friday, July 11, 2026, in Los Angeles. For the United States, it was another finish in the round of 16, the fourth consecutive World Cup in which the team has stopped at that stage and another missed chance to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.