World Cup 2026: US flop after Trump’s intervention as Belgium show how to drop big names

Belgium and Portugal showed, in equal but opposite fashions, that sometimes you’re better off without your big-name players.

Cristiano Ronaldo played the whole game for Portugal without affecting it as Spain advanced, while Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Jérémy Doku were all benched in Belgium’s 4-1 win over the US.

The US did not exactly have the goodwill of the world behind them after a new “special relationship” (Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino) seemed to play a role in rescinding Folarin Balogun’s red card from the previous game. Trump did not ease ethical concerns about fair play by talking up the role of his phone calls to the Fifa boss in that process, although given current global events, it was probably nice for him to announce a successful negotiation.

The game itself was not so successful for the States though. By the first hydration break, Belgium had registered seven shots, three on target and one goal. The US had none of those things. Even when they equalised through a deflected Malik Tillman free-kick, it took only two minutes for Charles De Ketelaere to nod in Belgium’s second.

The Belgians’ energy off the ball led to their third, which was totally laughable from a defensive perspective. ‘Keeper Matt Freese kicked fresh air after coming way off his line and the ball spilled to Hans Vanaken, who hit a timid effort straight at the covering Tim Ream. The veteran looked every bit of his 38 years, tangling up his legs and watching it trickle in.

Another error gifted Lukaku a late goal, and after some promising performances from Mauricio Pochettino’s side, the American dream is over.

There are always a couple of teams at the World Cup who remind you that great players don’t entitle you to anything. This year, as usual, Portugal was one of those teams.

Their game against Spain appeared to be the tie of the round, but after a decent opening, the game deteriorated into a bit of a snoozefest with Spain dominating possession but looking about as sharp as a rubber up front. Eventually, subs Ferran Torres and Mikel Merino combined for the stoppage-time winner.

It must be rough to be Gonçalo Ramos. He scored the winner in the previous round, yet Roberto Martinez still couldn’t bring himself to replace Ronaldo, despite the 41-year-old’s listless performance. Another masterclass from the same manager who frittered away Belgium’s golden generation.

Results:

Round of 16 – Portugal 0 Spain 1 (Merino 90+1)

Round of 16 – USA 1 (Tillman 33) Belgium 3 (De Ketelaere 9, 33, Vanaken 57, Lukaku 90+3)

Goal of the day: It wasn’t a day full of beautiful goals, but Charles De Ketelaere’s header for Belgium was a decent effort and typified the relentlessness and physical dominance of his side in their victory over the hosts. Leandro Trossard’s work on the left wing was particularly good, as he dug out a great cross for the Atalanta forward.

Moment of the day: The biggest story of the day, even with Portugal and the US exiting the competition, was Donald Trump’s incredible transparency about being involved in overturning Balogun’s red card. When fielding questions yesterday, Trump said that he knew a lot about sports, before admitting he didn’t know what a red card meant. That was definitely an unforeseen quirk of the US hosting the tournament.

Picture of the day: After playing some good football in their earlier games this tournament, the US will look back at the Belgium game with a mixture of regret, anger and confusion. It will be cold comfort to ‘keeper Matt Freese that his costly error after coming off his line was matched by Tim Ream’s failure to divert the ball as it rolled its way into the net for Belgium’s third.

Question of the day: Before Folarin Balogun, which Brazilian legend was the only player to receive a red card in a World Cup match and not be suspended for the following one?

Coming up today:

Round of 16 – Argentina v Egypt (5pm Irish time, RTÉ 2 and UTV)

Round of 16 – Switzerland v Colombia (9pm Irish time, RTÉ 2 and UTV)

Elsewhere in sport: Henry Shefflin has been appointed as the new Kilkenny manager, succeeding Derek Lyng after the Cats crashed out in Leinster this year.

In rugby, Owen Doyle was not a fan of Dan Sheehan’s reaction after his late try was disallowed against Australia in their Nations Championship game. Pico Lopes returned from the World Cup to a great reception at Dublin Airport, saying the tournament was a dream that became reality.

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