United States 1-4 Belgium: De Ketelaere leads emphatic win to knock out co-hosts

The United States' World Cup dream is over after being defeated 4-1 by Belgium at Seattle Stadium.

Charles De Ketelaere was the star of the show for Belgium, scoring twice in the first half before assisting Hans Vanaken in the second as Rudi Garcia's side set up a quarter-final clash with Spain.

Belgium wasted no time in finding their rhythm, with Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans seeing shots blocked before Timothy Castagne was denied at full stretch by Matt Freese inside the opening 46 seconds.

De Ketelaere scored his first in the ninth minute, tapping in from close range after Nicolas Raskin pounced on a loose ball and sent a low cross into the six-yard box.

Belgium saw some of their momentum derailed when Amadou Onana was forced off with a knee injury, and the USA capitalised just after the half-hour mark when Malik Tillman's free-kick was deflected past Thibaut Courtois.

Nevertheless, the co-hosts were behind again two minutes later when De Ketelaere climbed above Tim Ream to head in from Trossard's left-wing cross.

It was a quieter second half by comparison, but a huge error from Freese took the match away from the USA; Vanaken scored from distance after the goalkeeper was tackled by De Ketelaere and caught in no man's land.

Sebastian Berhalter and Folarin Balogun squandered the USA's best chances late on, firing wide and forcing a save from Courtois respectively, while Romelu Lukaku came off the bench and added gloss to the scoreline with a clinical finish in stoppage time after a mistake from Chris Richards at the back.

No De Bruyne, no problem

De Bruyne was an unused substitute as Garcia named four changes after his side's late rescue act against Senegal, but Belgium's other stars stepped up in their playmaker's absence.

Trossard became the third Belgian player on record (since 1966) to score 2+ goals and provide 2+ assists in a single World Cup, after Eden Hazard in 2018 (three goals, two assists) and Jan Ceulemans in 1986 (three goals, two assists).

De Ketelaere, meanwhile, became the first Belgian player on record to be directly involved in three goals in a single World Cup match (two goals, one assist).

Three of De Ketelaere's eight goals for Belgium have been against the USA, the opponent which he has scored against the most.

Overall, Belgium accumulated 2.15 expected goals (xG) from 15 shots to the USA's 0.67 from seven attempts, with Mauricio Pochettino's men second best from the very first whistle.

The USA have been eliminated in the round of 16 in six of their seven appearances at this stage, including their last four appearances in the competition (2010, 2014, 2022, 2026).

Perhaps the pre-match drama surrounding Balogun, who saw his red card suspended, distracted the co-hosts, but the USA produced a strong campaign to build on nonetheless.