The USA team was drawn against Belgium in Round 16 as their World Cup match ends

Team USA’s run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has come to an end.

Belgium, in front of a sold-out, US-heavy crowd in Seattle, defeated the USMNT, 4-1, in a game where they took full advantage of their opponents’ mistakes.

Charles De Ketelaere was the man who not only scored a goal nine minutes into the game, but his goal in the 39th minute had Team USA manager Mauricio Pochettino kicking water bottles aside.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH ONE OF THE GAMES ON FOXNEWS.COM

The reason? Malik Tillman, who scored a free kick against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 win in the Bay Area, took one just outside the Belgium box, and it crossed a Belgium defender to deny legendary goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to even the game at one point.

The momentum had returned to the USMNT at that point in the 37th minute. But again, US shooting defense led to an easy goal by De Ketelaere in front of Matt Freese’s net.

USA COACH MAURICIO POCHETTINO KICKS BOTTLES OF ANGRY POWERADE AS FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE DISTURBS

However, Freese had a big mistake in the second half that disrupted the momentum that had come when he scored one goal.

In the 57th minute, Freese came in and decided to leave the net while De Ketelaere was chasing the ball. Freese was the first to arrive, but as he tried to clear the ball, his foot got stuck in the dirt.

United States of America goalkeeper Matt Freese reacts after Belgium midfielder Hans Vanaken scores a goal against him as Belgium players celebrate during the second half of the World Cup round of 16 elimination game between the United States and Belgium at Lumen Field on Monday, July 6, 2026 in Seattle, WA. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

In a desperate effort, he tried to kick it with his right foot, but De Ketelaere got in the way and Hans Vanaken kicked it past Freese and Ream, who couldn’t turn his body to save one of the worst goals conceded by the team at the World Cup.

All in all, it wasn’t Team USA’s best effort when they needed it most in the Round of 16.

To make matters worse, Pochettino was forced to remove Christian Pulisic, nicknamed “Captain America,” after an attempted shot that resulted in an injury. Pulisic hit his right foot when the Belgian defender stepped in front of him. Instead of kicking the ball, Pulisic clipped the Belgian defender’s back heel, going down in obvious pain.

Pulisic tried to finish it off, but with a clear limp, Pochettino sent on Sebastian Berhalter instead.

As for the big story of the game, Folarin Balogun, who was found out after FIFA used Article 27 of its disciplinary rules to suspend his red card, was not a big part of the team. Belgium did a good job of strengthening the defense, and Balogun didn’t look as clean to score as he has in previous games.

The US tried to get back into the game, especially when Berhalter just missed getting the ball to Courtois, but it went wide to the left. However, Belgium did their defensive work and refused to concede what Senegal did to them in the round of 32 – a miraculous second-half comeback.

Charles De Ketelaere of Belgium celebrates with teammate Dodi Lukebakio after scoring his team’s second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between the USA and Belgium at Seattle Stadium on July 6, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEWS PROGRAM

Instead, Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s star striker, put the cherry on top of their victory with a stoppage-time goal past Freese in the second half. It was a statement of the game they carried throughout.

As you’d expect, it was a sad team in the US following the defeat, while Belgium celebrated their place in the quarterfinals when they face Spain later this week.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle.