After Wednesday night's last-minute comeback against Senegal in the World Cup, Belgium face co-hosts the United States in the Round of 16 for a spot in the quarter-finals.
For nearly 85 minutes, the Belgian national team faced a painful early exit at the 2026 World Cup. A defensive fumble and a lightning-fast Senegalese counter had brought the Red Devils minutes from defeat.
But the inevitable Romelu Lukaku and captain Youri Tielemans revived the country's tournament hopes and sent the game to extra time, where a late penalty brought Belgium a somewhat flattering victory.
As the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport put it, Belgium went All'inferno e ritorno.
To hell and back.
Belgium's Arthur Theate and Diego Da Silva Moreira pictured during a match between Belgium and Senegal, on 1 July 2026 in Seattle. Credit: Dirk Waem/Belga
Furrowed brows
Belgium's next challenge promises to be very different, but just as tough. As a co-hosting nation, the US team are hoping to achieve "soccer" glory – but now little old Belgium are standing in their way.
The two countries faced each other in a friendly game back in March, with Belgium coming out top in a game that exposed holes in the US defence. While the game dampened hopes across the Atlantic, both teams have come a long way since that day.
The US revived their dreams of making it far into the tournament by clobbering Paraguay in the opening round of the group stage and dominating Australia to secure a victory in their group. The decision by head coach Mauricio Pochettino to field backup players in the final, "dead rubber" group game against Turkiye led to a defeat and plenty of furrowed brows with American fans and pundits, but the squad entered the knockout stage with the dream very much alive.
Bosnia-Herzegovina proved a tougher challenge. While the scoresheet read a clear 2-0 in favour of the US, the game could have swung either way. But a victory over a reputable footballing nation will only make you stronger for the games to come, right?
Belgium's head coach Rudi Garcia and his team pictured during a match between Belgium and Senegal, on 1 July 2026 in Seattle. Credit: Dirk Waem/Belga
A star in the stands
The US enter the game against Belgium significantly weakened. During the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, attacker Folarin Balogun accidentally planted his studs on the ankle of a Bosnian defender, receiving a red card and an automatic one-match-suspension.
While the punishment seemed harsh given the foul was unintentional, suspensions are final during international events. Balogun, who has scored three times during the World Cup, will have to sit out the game against Belgium.
Fun fact: As Balogun had opened the score against Bosnia-Herzegovina before being excluded in the 60th minute, he became the first player to score and receive a red card in the same knockout stage game of a World Cup since Zinedine Zidane was expelled for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the final in 2006.
Without Balogun, the pressure on Christian Pulisic to shine becomes even more intense. The winger has gone mostly unnoticed during the tournament and will have to step up if his team wants to move to the quarter-finals.
Belgium, on the other hand, will have to do some conflict resolution after the Senegal match. Jeremy Doku seemed particularly unhappy when being subbed off, while Tielemans had a heated standoff with Leandro Trossard following a miscommunication.
Belgium and the United States will face each other on 7 July at 02:00 (Belgian time) in the Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.
