The United States men’s national team saw its World Cup run come to a lopsided end on Monday night, as Belgium eliminated the Americans 4-1 in the Round of 16, becoming the third and final host nation to exit the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The knockout match was played in front of a sellout crowd, closing the book on a tournament that many hoped would be historic for American soccer on home soil.
Charles De Ketelaere was the story of the first half for Belgium, scoring twice, while Hans Vanaken pounced on a defensive mistake and Romelu Lukaku capped things off with a stoppage-time goal, per FIFA. De Ketelaere got things started early, scoring just nine minutes in and putting the U.S. on the back foot from the jump.
For a moment, it looked like the Americans might hang around. Malik Tillman drilled home a free kick just past the half-hour mark to level things up, and the home crowd came alive.
However, De Ketelaere answered right back two minutes later, and from there the game started to slip away from the U.S.
Things got worse in the 57th minute when goalkeeper Matt Freese hesitated on a clearance, letting Vanaken swoop in and make it 3-1. Lukaku put the finishing touch on the match with Belgium’s 4th goal of the night in stoppage time.
Adding a bit more drama to the buildup, there’d already been a stir over striker Folarin Balogun, whose eligibility for the match was up in the air after he picked up a red card in the Round of 32. FIFA cleared him to play in the end, as previously reported by The Dallas Express, but it simply didn’t end up mattering much.
Same Old Ceiling: USMNT’s 2026 Run Ends Right Where It Usually Does
Given how much hype surrounded this team – a roster loaded with players from big European clubs and Mauricio Pochettino running the show – this exit stings in a familiar way. The goal was to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, when a young, scrappy U.S. squad shocked everyone by making it to the final eight in South Korea and Japan.
Monday’s loss fits into the team’s pattern we’ve seen for years: Round of 16 exits in 2010 and 2014, missing the tournament altogether in 2018, then another Round of 16 finish in 2022, per ESPN. Instead of breaking through as co-hosts with home-field advantage on their side, the 2026 USMNT hit the same wall this generation of players always seems to hit – no higher, no lower.
The Rest Of The World Cup Rolls On
With the U.S. out, along with fellow co-hosts Canada and Mexico, the final eight is now set and dominated by traditional soccer powers.
Argentina, Belgium, England, France and Spain headline the group of quarterfinalists, while France and Morocco have also advanced and will meet each other in the quarterfinals. One of the tournament’s biggest shocks came when Brazil was eliminated by Norway, a result that reshuffled expectations for the rest of the knockout stage.
Belgium’s reward for beating the U.S. is a quarterfinal date with Spain, which defeated Portugal in Arlington on Monday – and, with it, closed out Cristiano Ronaldo’s likely final World Cup appearance – on a late goal in stoppage time.
Here’s how the quarterfinal schedule shapes up:
- Thursday, July 9 – France vs. Morocco, Boston
- Friday, July 10 – Spain vs. Belgium, Inglewood, CA
- Saturday, July 11 – Norway vs. England, Miami Gardens
- Saturday, July 11 – Argentina/Egypt winner vs. Switzerland/Colombia winner, Kansas City
The Argentina-Egypt and Switzerland-Colombia Round of 16 matches are still scheduled for Tuesday, with both winners also advancing directly into the quarterfinal round.
From there, the road to the title runs through the semifinals, with one match set for Dallas Stadium, before it all wraps up with the final in New York on July 19, when a new World Cup champion will be crowned.
The Americans won’t be part of that final stretch, but for a soccer-mad home crowd, the tournament still has plenty left to watch – and plenty on the line for the eight teams left standing.
