{"id":4376,"date":"2026-07-06T07:33:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T07:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4376"},"modified":"2026-07-06T07:33:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T07:33:48","slug":"a-dozen-years-after-disappointment-can-the-united-states-knock-off-belgium-in-the-round-of-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4376","title":{"rendered":"A dozen years after disappointment, can the United States knock off Belgium in the round of 16?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Their last World Cup encounter in the round of 16 in 2014 ended with 30 minutes of crazy. The United States and Belgium had played a scoreless 90 minutes largely because of Tim Howard\u2019s acrobatics in goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Jude Bellingham scores twice, England survives red card to eliminate Mexico in round 16 of the World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

Then the teams scored three times in 14 minutes and the Belgians had to hold off an all-out American assault to prevail, 2-1. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor my heart, please don\u2019t give me too many games like that,\u201d pleaded then Red Devils coach Marc Wilmots.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

A dozen years later, the two sides will have at each other again in the round of 16 on Monday night, this time inside Seattle\u2019s sonic boom of a stadium.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Yanks are riding high after blanking Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2-0, despite playing the final three dozen minutes with 10 men. And with top gun Folarin Balogun available after his red-card suspension was overturned Sunday, the co-hosts will be at full strength.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Belgians, meanwhile, are happy still to be among the living after staging the greatest comeback in tournament history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Down two goals with four minutes left in regulation, they rallied to beat Senegal, 3-2, on captain Youri Tielemans\u2019s controversial penalty kick in the waning seconds of extra time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Belgium\u2019s Golden Generation, studded with stars Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Vincent Kompany, and Thibaut Courtois, had dreams of immortality in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

But they never managed more than bronze \u2014 a third-place finish in 2018 after going out to champion France.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four years ago, the Red Devils were past peak.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo chance,\u201d predicted De Bruyne before they went three-and-out in Qatar. \u201cWe\u2019re too old.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This time, they\u2019re grayer than ever. Six of their starters are 30 or older. De Bruyne, 35, prowls the midfield. Lukaku, 33, came off the bench to score the first goal against Senegal. Courtois, 34, keeps the goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

From the beginning, the Red Devils\u2019 performance in this Cup was wobbly. They needed an own goal to draw with Egypt. They had a scoreless deadlock with Iran. They required a couple of late goals against winless New Zealand to be sure of advancing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet they\u2019re unbeaten in 17 straight matches, since March of last year, and still present a substantial obstacle.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Belgians, who\u2019ve won their last six meetings with the Americans, delivered a harsh tutorial in their March tuneup in Atlanta, spotting them an early goal then scoring five in a row in a 5-2 smackdown, four of them within 23 minutes. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good reality check for us,\u201d reckoned United States coach Mauricio Pochettino.<\/span><\/p>\n

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That defeat highlighted several of the Yanks\u2019 unfortunate tendencies in recent years. Failing to hold an early lead. Conceding goals on either side of halftime. Becoming disorganized in transition. Losing one-on-one encounters within shooting distance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those would likely be fatal against the most technically skilled side the United States has faced this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

After not scoring a goal on their own for the first 208 minutes of the tournament, the Red Devils piled up eight in their last two outings, five of them after the 85th minute.<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019ll put up a significant challenge for a US squad that customarily has had problems closing out matches and has yet to win a Cup encounter in extra time.<\/span><\/p>\n

That said, the Americans have made considerable progress during this tournament. They\u2019ve scored first in all four matches, three times in the first 11 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>More World Cup coverage<\/div>\n

They\u2019ve produced three goals within two minutes of intermission and one four minutes after. They\u2019ve scored three times off set pieces. And their starting lineup has allowed only one goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been growing a lot since the last friendly game,\u201d observed Belgian forward Dodi Luk\u00e9bakio, who scored twice in that one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two matches in particular have shown that. The Americans demolished a Paraguay team that eliminated Germany and held France scoreless in the run of play.<\/span><\/p>\n

And they not only staved off Bosnia-Herzegovina for an extended period, they also doubled their lead in the final eight minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of danger in the team, a lot of quality,\u201d said Belgian defender Maxim De Cuyper.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a decidedly more balanced and confident US group than the one that needed every bit of gumption to hang with a superior Belgian side a dozen years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cC\u2019mon, c\u2019mon,\u201d former US coach Jurgen Klinsmann urged his charges, waving them upfield from the sidelines in the final minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pochettino wants his team to attack from the start, to bring multiple men forward, to take risks to get rewards. So far, that approach has paid off nicely.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about here and now,\u201d said US captain Tim Ream, whose colleagues would face defending European champion Spain or Portugal in the quarterfinals. \u201cHow much are we willing to do to move on?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Trump won big spending promises from NATO last year. This week in Turkey, he\u2019ll try to enforce them.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coach Mauricio Pochettino has the United States playing well recently. 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