Bandwagon Round of 16 · Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
USA
BelgiumMonday, July 6, 8:00 PM EDT · 📺 FOX / FOX One
FT 1-4 · Belgium advance
Twelve years after Tim Howard's 15 saves couldn't save them, the USA finally gets its Belgium rematch — at home, and favored.
The winner reaches the quarterfinals, somewhere the USA hasn't been since 2002. Do it now, in Seattle, and it's the biggest USMNT win in a generation.
The USA. You live here. That's the whole pitch.
01Sound smart about this
- The Balogun U-turn: the USA's top scorer was banned after a VAR red card vs Bosnia — then on Sunday FIFA 'suspended the suspension' on a year's probation, reportedly after the White House leaned on FIFA. He's expected to lead the line tonight; Belgium is contesting the decision, and coach Rudi Garcia sneered that he'd 'just found out that July 5 is FIFA's April Fools' Day.'
- Belgium are the tournament's zombies: dead at 2-0 down to Senegal in the 86th, alive via Lukaku and Tielemans, then a 125th-minute penalty winner — the latest goal in men's World Cup history. Iconic, but those legs ran 120-plus minutes.
- Belgium beat this same USA team 5-2 in a friendly just three months ago. Rudi Garcia's side knows it can hurt them — though after the Balogun news the books swung back to the USA as favorites to advance. De Bruyne is fit and starts; Lukaku is again the bench weapon.
02Players to actually watchtap a line to copy
Recovered from a calf scare and back to being the USA's engine — he set up Balogun in the 4-1 Paraguay rout.
Say this“Fun fact: Pulisic now has more career World Cup assists than Cristiano Ronaldo — three to two.”
Scored the goal that killed off Bosnia while the USA was down to ten men.
Say this“Tillman iced the Bosnia game a man down — he and Balogun are the two Americans Belgium actually fears.”
Man City's speedster is Belgium's scariest one-v-one threat if he gets any space.
Say this“Watch whichever American fullback draws Doku — in open space, he's gone.”
Scored twice vs Senegal, including the 125th-minute penalty — the latest goal ever in a men's World Cup match.
Say this“Tielemans literally scored the latest goal in World Cup history on Wednesday — never celebrate against Belgium early.”
03Ask thistap to copy
Balogun got un-banned the day before the game, reportedly after the White House called FIFA — good outcome or terrible precedent?
Is this the biggest USMNT game of our lifetime? What even competes — the 2002 quarterfinal? Dos a cero?
Belgium ran 125 minutes on Wednesday — are their legs shot tonight, or does a comeback like that make a team more dangerous?
Were you watching in 2014 when Tim Howard made 15 saves against Belgium and the US still lost?
Honest question: if the US actually makes the quarterfinals, does soccer finally 'make it' here — or do we say that every four years?
04Opinions you can safely have
- However you land on the Balogun reversal, Belgium have every right to be furious — and it's going to add spice to every single tackle tonight.
- This is almost certainly Kevin De Bruyne's last World Cup, so Belgium will be desperate.
- Win or lose, beating Bosnia for a first knockout win since 2002 already made this a successful tournament for the USA.
05Jargon of the match
A player who comes off the bench late and changes the game — exactly what Romelu Lukaku is now: barely fit after an injury-ruined season, he rose from the bench to spark Belgium's comeback vs Senegal, and he'll loom over the last 30 minutes tonight.
06The call
USA 2-1 in regulation — Belgium's 125-minute legs give out around the 70th, and Seattle loses its mind.
Facts checked: 2026-07-07. Lineups drop ~1 hour before kickoff.