Belgium crush USA 4-1 in Seattle to end co-hosts' World Cup 2026 in group stage

Belgium ended the United States’ World Cup 2026 campaign with a ruthless 4-1 victory in Seattle, advancing to the round of 16 and abruptly halting the co-hosts’ tournament on home soil. It is the second time Belgium has eliminated the U.S. at the round of 16 stage, the first coming at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Analyst Zlatan Ibrahimović was measured in his assessment, arguing the result reflected the genuine gap between the two sides rather than a failure of effort or preparation.

“They played a better team,” Ibrahimović said. “They are better than the U.S. when you look at the paper and the game. I think this was the worst game the U.S. had, but they did face a proper opponent.”

Ibrahimović stopped short of writing off the tournament as a disappointment, framing the exit as a necessary lesson for a programme still finding its level on the world stage.

“The result today is not good, but in the end I think it was a good one,” he said. “They did the maximum they could in this tournament. Yes, you can have luck and you can go further, but I think it was a reality check for the U.S.”

Thierry Henry took a harder line. While the four goals conceded were damaging enough, Henry was more troubled by the Americans’ inability to threaten Belgium going forward, particularly after falling behind.

“I wanted to see a team that was different when they were one-nil down and they couldn’t answer,” Henry said. “At the end of the day, the third goal changed everything because it looked like they might be coming back.”

Henry left little room for consolation, suggesting the manner of the defeat pointed to deeper structural problems for the U.S. programme.

“When you consider going out like that, you’re going nowhere,” he said.

The result leaves the United States reflecting on a sobering home exit, with the scale of the defeat and the lack of attacking response raising pointed questions about how far the squad has genuinely progressed ahead of future tournaments.