SEATTLE (July 6, 2026) – Facing its toughest opponent of the tournament, the U.S. Men’s National Team could not quite re-create the magic from its previous group stage visit to Seattle and fell 4-1 in the Round of 16 at FIFA World Cup 2026 to a ninth-ranked Belgium side that is now unbeaten in its last 18 matches.
U.S. midfielder Malik Tillman scored his second goal on a direct free kick in as many matches to momentarily tie the game in the first half. The USA fought valiantly to try and overcome a two-goal deficit in the second half, but the tournament co-host's earnest effort wasn’t enough to thwart the European power.
With the result, the USMNT’s run at FIFA World Cup 2026 on home soil comes to an end. The U.S. bow out of the competition having made program history – finishing atop Group D with wins over Paraguay and Australia, recording the first knockout stage victory since 2002 with the Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, and scoring the most goals in a single World Cup (11).
The U.S. also finish this year’s tournament having inspired a nation, including the 66,925 in attendance for today’s match at Seattle Stadium, a majority of whom donned Stars and Stripes. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino and the 26 players on his roster will go down in U.S. Soccer history for the incredible support they generated in the first FIFA World Cup on home soil in 34 years.
Pochettino, who earned the most wins by a USMNT manager in FIFA World Cup history, did not make any changes to the starting XI that faced Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 1 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. That XI also started the group stage opener against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles.
U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese, earning his 19th cap, was called into action a mere 46 seconds into the match, making a tremendous diving save to block a shot on target from Belgium’s Timothy Castagne that was headed into the upper left corner. Freese then calmly collected a shot inside the box on the following corner kick for his second save in the opening two minutes.
Belgium’s aggressive start to the match continued and the Red Devils capitalized in the ninth minute when Charles de Ketelaere tapped in a cross from Nicolas Raskin to open the scoring on the day.
For the first time in the tournament, the U.S. was on the other side of a match’s opening goal. The Americans, determined to find the answer that would continue its World Cup scoring streak, possessed the ball more and more in its attacking third, and in the 31st minute, the U.S. scored the equalizer. Fresh off scoring his first FIFA World Cup goal in the Round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tillman found the back of the net once again from a set play.
Tillman’s goal tied the match and sent the passionate Seattle crowd into a frenzy, but the excitement was short-lived because two minutes later, Belgium pulled ahead on the second goal of the day from de Ketelaere, this time a header from close range.
Belgium would extend its lead to 3-1 following the halftime break following a costly goalkeeping error. Trying to clear a ball that dropped into no man’s land outside his own box, Freese couldn’t escape pressure from De Ketelaere. He knocked the ball to Hans Vanaken who took advantage of an empty net from long range.
The USMNT showed a good effort to climb out of the two-goal deficit, including second-half substitute Sebastian Berhalter who nearly pulled one back with a wicked strike in the 79th minute that was reminiscent of his goal against Türkiye, but the shot pushed just wide of frame. Striker Folarin Balogun followed it up with a good look in the 82nd minute, a firm shot that forced a save from Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
In the end, Belgium was the stronger side on the day, with an exclamation point from the country’s all-time leading goal scorer, Romelo Lukaku in second-half stoppage time and will advance to take on Spain in the Quarterfinals on Friday, July 10 in Los Angeles.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
BEL – CHARLES DE KETELAERE (Nicolas Raskin), 9th minute: Working the ball from right to left in its attacking third, Leandro Trossard controlled a long switch near the end line. U.S. defender Alex Freeman blocked Trossard's cross, then Nicolas Raskin collected the ball as it fell inside the USA penalty area and slipped toward the end line with his dribble. De Ketelaare beat the U.S. back line with a darting run and met the low cross into the six-yard box, finishing with a touch from close range. USA 0, BEL 1
USA – MALIK TILLMAN, 31st minute: Folarin Balogun drew a foul just beyond the top of the penalty arc to earn a free kick and the U.S. found the back of the net on its first shot of the match. Tillman’s right-footed strike caught a deflection off the head of a Belgian defender in the defensive wall that fooled goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and spun into the center of the net to level the match. USA 1, BEL 1
BEL – CHARLES DE KETELAERE (Leandro Trossard), 33rd minute: In a play that began similarly to the opening goal, Belgium worked the ball from the right to the left side of its attacking third. Trossard’s left-footed cross floated into the box and de Ketelaere rose over Tim Ream inside the six-yard box and drove a header into the upper right-side netting to secure his brace. USA 1, BEL 2
BEL – HANS VANAKEN (Charles de Ketelaere), 57th minute: A long ball got in behind USMNT’s backline, and Matt Freese left his line to gather the ball outside the penalty area. He did well to control the ball but couldn’t fire off a clearance quick enough to diffuse the pressure from de Ketelaere, who knocked the ball to Vanaken. Tim Ream tried to backtrack to halt Vanaken’s shot, but the ball bounced twice and into an empty net. USA 1, BEL 3
BEL – ROMELO LUKAKU (Hans Vanaken), 90+3rd minute: After an attempted clearance ricocheted toward goal, two Belgian players double-teamed Chris Richards. The center back attempted escape, but Maxim De Cuyper made the interception, which knocked straight into the path of Lukaku. The efficient striker did the rest to roll a right-footed strike from the left side of the box into the lower right corner of the net. USA 1, BEL 4 FINAL
Additional Notes:
Match: United States Men’s National Team vs. Belgium
Date: July 6, 2026
Competition: 2026 FIFA World Cup – Round of 16
Venue: Seattle Stadium; Seattle Wash.
Attendance: 66,925
Kickoff: 5 p.m. PT
Weather: 81 degrees, sunny
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| BEL | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| BEL – Charles De Ketelaere (Nicolas Raskin) | 9th minute |
| USA – Malik Tillman | 31 |
| BEL – Charles De Ketelaere (Leandro Trossard) | 33 |
| BEL – Hans Vanaken (Charles De Ketelaere) | 57 |
| BEL – Romelo Lukaku (Hans Vanaken) | 90+3' |
Lineups:
USA: 24-Matt Freese; 16-Alex Freeman, 3-Chris Richards 13-Tim Ream (Capt.); 5-Antonee Robinson (8-Max Arfsten, 90+2); 8-Weston McKennie, 4-Tyler Adams (9-Ricardo Pepi, 72),17-Malik Tillman, 2-Sergiño Dest (7-Gio Reyna, 45); 10-Christian Pulisic (14-Sebastian Berhalter, 59) 20-Folarin Balogun (19-Haji Wright, 90+2)
Substitutes not used: 1-Matt Turner, 25-Chris Brady, 6-Auston Trusty, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 12-Miles Robinson, 21-Tim Weah, 22-Mark McKenzie, 23-Joe Scally, 26-Alex Zendejas
Head Coach: Mauricio Pochettino
BEL: 1-Thibaut Courtois; 21-Timothy Castagne, 4-Brandon Mechele, 25-Nathan Ngoy, 5-Maxim De Cuyper; 23-Nicolas Raskin (6-Axel Witsel, 89), 24-Amadou Onana (20-Hans Vanaken, 20); 14-Dodi Lukebakio (11-Jeremy Doku, 67), 8-Youri Tielemans (Capt.), 10-Leandro Trossard (22-Alexis Saelemaekers, 89), 17-Charles De Ketelaere (9-Romelu Lukaku, 67)
Substitutes not used: 12-Senne Lammens, 13-Mike Penders; 2-Zeno Debast, 3-Arthur Theate, 7-Kevin De Bruyne, 15-Thomas Meunier, 16-Koni De Winter, 18-Joaquin Seys, 19-Diego Moreira, 26-Matias Fernandez-Pardo
Head Coach: Rudi Garcia
Stats Summary: USA / BEL
Shots: 7 / 15
Shots on Goal: 2 / 7
Saves: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 3 / 5
Fouls: 11 / 9
Offsides: 0 / 1
| Misconduct Summary | |
| USA – Weston McKennie (Caution) | 35th minute |
| USA – Malik Tillman (Caution) | 69 |
Officials:
Referee: Adham Makhedmee (JOR)
Assistant 1: Mohammad Alkalaf (JOR)
Assistant 2: Ahmad Alroalle (JOR)
Fourth Official: Pierre Atcho (GAB)
Reserve Asst. Referee: Boris Ditsoga (GAB)
VAR 1: Khamis Almarri (QAT)
VAR 2: Nicolas Gallo (COL)
VAR 3: Hernan Mastrangelo (ARG)