USA 1-4 Belgium: The Player Stats Behind the Rout

Some knockout ties are decided by fine margins. This was not one of them. Belgium's 4-1 win over the United States at Lumen Field, Seattle, was a finishing clinic wrapped around one outstanding individual performance, and the underlying numbers back the scoreline rather than soften it. Belgium generated 2.15 expected goals to the USA's 0.67, per Opta, and turned that edge into four goals through ruthless conversion and cold blood in the box.

Here is the performance data that defined it, structured to keep.

The scoreboard, minute by minute

• 9' De Ketelaere (assist: Raskin)
• 31' Tillman (direct free-kick, deflected) - USA
• 33' De Ketelaere (assist: Trossard)
• 57' Vanaken (assist: De Ketelaere)
• 90+3' Lukaku (assist: Vanaken)

Half-time: USA 1-2 Belgium. The USA drew level-ish through Malik Tillman's deflected free-kick, but never led, and Belgium restored control within two minutes each time it mattered.

The man of the match: Charles De Ketelaere

Charles De Ketelaere produced the single most complete attacking display of the round:

• 2 goals, 1 assist
• 3 shots, all 3 on target (xG 1.22)
• 3 key passes, 88% pass completion (15/17)
• 6 of 9 duels won, including 3 aerial
• 2 interceptions before being withdrawn on 67 minutes

Per Opta, he became the first Belgian on record (since 1966) to be directly involved in three goals in a single match at a World Cup or European Championship. Three of his eight international goals have now come against the USA, his most-scored-against opponent. Market value: Transfermarkt lists him at an estimated 30m euros, which after a night like this looks like the bargain of the bracket.

The supporting cast

Leandro Trossard assisted the second and added three blocks at the other end. Across the tournament he now has 2 goals and 2 assists, and leads the entire 2026 World Cup for chances created with 17. He is the third Belgian on record to record 2+ goals and 2+ assists at a single World Cup, after Eden Hazard (2018) and Jan Ceulemans (1986). Estimated Transfermarkt value: 18m euros.

Hans Vanaken came on inside 20 minutes for the injured Amadou Onana and delivered a goal and an assist, completing 34 of 40 passes. Romelu Lukaku needed one shot off the bench to make it four, and in doing so became the first player ever to score as a substitute in four different World Cup matches. Vanaken and Lukaku were Belgium's fourth and fifth substitute goals of this World Cup, the most of any team in the tournament. That is depth as a weapon, not a luxury.

The USA side of the ledger

The scoreline was harsh on effort but fair on chances. The USA had 56% of the ball but only 7 shots and 2 on target, and their 0.67 xG tells the story of a team that circulated possession without cutting through.

• Malik Tillman scored the goal, his second at a World Cup, from a deflected free-kick, and was the team's main source of end product.
• Folarin Balogun led the line with 3 shots but a modest 0.43 xG and no goal. Estimated Transfermarkt value: 40m euros.
• Tyler Adams was the most reliable presence, completing 59 of 61 passes and posting the team's best creative figure (0.27 xA).
• Christian Pulisic, at an estimated 40m euros on Transfermarkt the USA's most valuable player, limped off injured on 59 minutes, and the game got away from his team soon after.

The damage was self-inflicted as much as forced: the USA committed three errors leading directly to goals, including goalkeeper Matt Freese being dispossessed in the build-up to Vanaken's strike. Against a side finishing at Belgium's level, that math never works.

The finishing gap in one line

Belgium scored four from 2.15 xG; the USA scored one from 0.67. De Ketelaere alone, with an xG on target of 1.98 from 1.22 xG, out-threatened the entire United States team on his own. The depth point compounds it: Rudi Garcia could afford to leave Kevin De Bruyne as an unused substitute and still bring on two match-changers, while Thibaut Courtois, an estimated 15m euros on Transfermarkt, was barely troubled, making a single save all night. For the USA, 458 accurate passes and a majority of possession produced zero big chances created, the clearest sign that territory was never turning into threat. When one team manufactures four clear opportunities and the other none, the shots and the scoreline tend to agree.

What the numbers say next

The USA have now exited in the Round of 16 in six of their seven appearances at this stage, including each of the last four. Belgium march on to a fourth World Cup quarter-final, their third in the last four editions.

The reusable lesson is about conversion and depth. Belgium did not dominate possession, but they turned a 2.15 xG night into four goals and scored more than half their tournament goals through substitutes. The teams that read where value is being created, in this case a 30m euro forward outperforming names worth far more, tend to be the ones still standing. Tracking those performance shifts before the wider market catches up is exactly what SVM is built around. sportvalue.app

Nothing here is a verdict on what comes next against sterner opposition. But as a record of a rout and the individuals who authored it, this one reads clean.