BELGIUM – 4 USA – 1
Seattle, July 7: Images told the story of the United States’ World Cup downfall — Christian Pulisic writhing in pain with an ankle injury, goalkeeper Matt Freese clutching his head after a costly error, Chris Richards collapsed on the turf, and coach Mauricio Pochettino angrily kicking a rack of water bottles.
American hopes of a deep World Cup run on home soil ended as Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and set up another goal in Belgium’s commanding 4-1 victory on Monday to book a place in the quarterfinals.
“It stinks,” Tyler Adams said. “This was a moment to have an opportunity to advance and really try and do something special. We fell short.”
Despite the return of Folarin Balogun after FIFA controversially overturned his one-match suspension, the U.S. defence struggled throughout. Defensive lapses led to two first-half goals before Freese’s mistake gifted Belgium a third early in the second half. Substitute Romelu Lukaku sealed the win in stoppage time after another American error.
“It was a very bad day,” Pochettino admitted. “It’s not like you are in a rocket and you improve and you grow. It’s not linear.”
The defeat was another painful setback for a team hoping to elevate soccer’s status in the United States, but one that again fell short of matching the country’s 2002 quarterfinal run. Belgium, meanwhile, eliminated the U.S. from the round of 16 for the second time in 12 years and stretched its unbeaten run to 18 matches. The Red Devils will face Spain on Friday for a place in the semifinals.
“We showed that we’re ready and we want to perform,” Belgium captain Youri Tielemans said.
Malik Tillman briefly restored hope by levelling the score midway through the first half with a free kick, becoming the first player since France’s Bernard Genghini in 1982 to score two free-kick goals at a World Cup. However, Belgium regained the lead just 61 seconds later.Pulisic’s tournament ended in disappointment after he injured his right ankle early in the second half and was forced off, finishing the competition without a goal. After winning three matches in the expanded 48-team tournament, the Americans suffered their seventh straight defeat to Belgium and have now lost 11 of their last 12 games against European opposition.
“A goal was obviously to inspire people that the sport was growing in the U.S., which I think we saw. The support was unbelievable,” Adams said. “In this moment we let them down.”
De Ketelaere opened the scoring in the eighth minute before adding a second in the 33rd. He later forced Freese into a costly mistake that allowed Hans Vanaken to make it 3-1, while Lukaku capped the victory with his 93rd international goal in stoppage time. (AP)
