Belgium demolish USA 4-1 as Lukaku taunts crowd after Balogun suspension row

Belgium dismantled the United States 4-1 at Seattle Stadium in the round of 16, with Charles De Ketelaere scoring a brace and Romelu Lukaku adding a late goal before cupping his ear to taunt the 66,925-strong home crowd — a pointed gesture directed at a nation still seething over FIFA’s decision to reinstate Folarin Balogun after a one-game red-card suspension was controversially overturned.

The Belgian football federation had formally sought an explanation from FIFA over the ruling that allowed Balogun to feature. Several Belgium players made clear they viewed the decision as unjust, and the team doubled down after the final whistle by posting a photo on social media with the caption: “Overturn this.”

“There’s always a justice somewhere in life,” said Belgian midfielder Nicolas Raskin. “The fact that something happened like that, we don’t think that was fair. And today, I think it just brings us a little bit of motivation that we needed to win the game.”

Captain Youri Tielemans was equally measured in his assessment of the performance itself. “We put in a lot of intensity, there was quality too,” he said. “Defensively, we were really compact. We tried to put them under pressure and it really worked out for us. We scored at the right moments, too.”

The victory extended Belgium’s unbeaten run to 18 matches and eliminated the United States from the World Cup at the round of 16 for the second time in 12 years. American defender Alex Freeman had spoken beforehand about seeking revenge for the 2014 exit and a 5-2 friendly defeat in March, but Belgium were in no mood to oblige.

Notably, the win was not built on Belgium’s most decorated names. Kevin De Bruyne never left the bench, and Jeremy Doku did not start. Instead, it was De Ketelaere who drove the performance, with Hans Vanaken also getting on the scoresheet. Belgium’s four goals represented the most the United States had conceded in a single World Cup match since a 5-1 loss to Czechoslovakia in 1990.

“It’s a great feeling to put out this performance in this game and to go through,” De Ketelaere said. “It’s amazing for the team and for the country.”

The Red Devils’ path to this stage was far from smooth. They required a dramatic comeback from two goals down to beat Senegal in the round of 32, and earlier in the tournament had settled for draws against Iran and Egypt. A dominant 5-1 win over New Zealand proved crucial to their progression. Against the United States, however, there was no such uncertainty — Belgium were clinical from the outset.