Belgium had a simple — and savage — postgame message for the U.S. on Monday night.
“Overturn this,” the Red Devils’ official X account posted alongside a photo of star Romelu Lukaku in the moment after their dominant 4-1 win over the USMNT at Seattle Stadium.
The trash talk comes after a few days of World Cup chaos in which American star Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban was suspended by FIFA — thanks to some help from President Trump — making him eligible to play in the Round of 16 knockout game.
The Royal Belgian Football Association was not shy about its displeasure with the move.
“To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure for a copy of this decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report,” the Belgian body said in a statement. “Which is a breach of FIFA regulations.
“The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.”
The Red Devils opted to take action themselves, taking a 1-0 lead during Monday’s game on a goal by Charles De Ketelaere just nine minutes into the match, putting the USMNT on its heels.
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Malik Tillman knotted the score with a direct kick at 31′, but it was De Ketelaere again just two minutes later to restore a lead the Belgian didn’t relinquish.
Hans Vanaken made it a 3-1 score, capitalizing on an embarrassing mistake by US goalie Matt Freese, and Lukaku put it on ice three minutes into stoppage time.
Belgium is set to square off with Spain in the quarterfinals, while the US is left to watch the rest of the tournament on home soil.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
