Reuters : The United States’ World Cup dreams came to a crashing halt in the last 16 against Belgium on Monday as Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in a 4-1 win overshadowed by FIFA’s controversial decision to suspend U.S. forward Folarin Balogun’s ban.
De Ketelaere gave Belgium the lead in the ninth minute with a simple tap-in, taking full advantage of a nervous start by the U.S. to quickly deflate the partisan crowd.
Malik Tillman equalised in the 31st minute with a deflected free kick which wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois, but De Ketelaere restored Belgium’s lead little more than a minute later with a back-post header.
“From the beginning, we didn’t connect with the game,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “Even when we scored the goal, 1-1, we conceded in the next action.”
The U.S. played with more authority after the break until a calamitous error from goalkeeper Matt Freese allowed substitute Hans Vanaken to score in the 57th minute, irreversibly shifting the momentum in a stunned Seattle Stadium.
Romelu Lukaku then added a fourth in added time to send U.S. fans streaming for the exits and Belgium into the quarter-finals for the third time in the last four World Cups. They will play European champions Spain in Los Angeles on Friday.
The U.S. defeat means all three co-hosts are out of the tournament, after Canada and Mexico lost their last-16 games. “In the moments that we were doing well (in the tournament), we felt amazing,” U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams said.
“And then obviously, an opportunity like today, we didn’t grasp it – and it’s gonna sting.”
