Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The USMNT faces Belgium in a crucial World Cup round of 16 match after overcoming bureaucratic hurdles and presidential intervention.
- Folarin Balogun’s three goals have been pivotal for the Americans, who have been the tournament’s most potent offensive team so far.
- Belgium’s veteran stars Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne face a tough test against a young U.S. side aiming for a historic quarterfinal berth against Spain.
The USMNT's round of 16 showdown against Belgium managed to become an international incident before a ball was even kicked. Now, after an apparent presidential intervention and another heaping helping of inscrutable FIFA bureaucracy, the game is finally set to be played — but which team will punch its ticket to the quarterfinal and a date with Spain?
Folarin Balogun will indeed play for the Americans, and while it's certainly debatable whether that's the proper outcome to this whole ordeal, what's beyond debate is just how critical the striker has been to his team's success so far in this tournament. He's scored three of the USMNT's eight goals so far through four matches, including the one that opened the scoring against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32. This has been the most impressive performance from the U.S. men at a World Cup in a very long time, from the soaring opening win over Paraguay to a victory over Australia that clinched the group. Can they keep it going for one more round?
Doing so while require outlasting a Belgian side with plenty of big names still dotting the roster — and plenty of experience in high-stakes matches on the biggest stage. Both Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne remain from the team that finished third at the 2018 World Cup, and while both are past their primes, they've been supplemented by fresh faces like Manchester City's Jeremy Doku and Arsenal's Leandro Trossard. The Red Devils were uninspiring in the group stage — drawing with Egypt and Iran before a 5-1 blasting of New Zealand secured their place in the knockout rounds — and needed a dramatic comeback to outlast Senegal in the round of 32, but don't take them lightly.
Keep up to date on the U.S. vs. Belgium with the latest score, stats and plays from our live tracker.
USA vs. Belgium live score
Match tracker
Match stats
Match and player odds
Lineups
Play-by-play
Match and team props
Prop | Odds | Halftime Results | Full-time Results |
|---|---|---|---|
Both teams to score | Yes (-200), No (+150) | ||
First goal | USA (-115), Belgium (+100), No Goal (+1400) | ||
USA goals | Under 1.5 (-137), Over 1.5 (-104) | ||
Belgium goals | Under 1.5 (-152), Over 1.5 (+106) | ||
USA shots | 14+ (+100) | ||
Belgium shots | 14+ (+130) |
The U.S. have been the more dangerous team offensively at this tournament, scoring four against the same Paraguay side that just frustrated France and adding two apiece against both Australia in the group stage and Bosnia in the round of 32. Belgium, on the other hand, scored just one goal across its first two group matches before erupting for five in the finale against New Zealand. And while they eventually scored three to beat Senegal in the round of 32, all of them came in the 86th minute or later.
Player props
Goals and shots
Player | Anytime goalscorer | Shots | Shots on target | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Romelu Lukaku | +125 | 3+ (-115) | 2+ (+165) | |
Folarin Balogun | +130 | 4+ (+110) | 2+ (+135) | |
Ricardo Pepi | +160 | 3+ (-140) | 2+ (+220) | |
Christian Pulisic | +170 | 3+ (+-105) | 2+ (+220) | |
Haji Wright | +175 | 4+ (+125) | 2+ (+135) | |
Gio Reyna | +235 | 3+ (+175) | 1+ (-145) | |
Charles De Ketelaere | +270 | 3+ (+140) | 1+ (-210) |
Balogun has been the expert finisher the U.S. has been wanting for years, scoring three of his team's eight goals so far. Christian Pulisic has yet to find the back of the net, but five other Americans have tallied once. Lukaku isn't the force he once was for Belgium, but he's scored twice so far and is always a threat in the box thanks to his physical presence. Trossard and Youri Tielemans have also scored a pair of goals for the Red Devils.
Assists
Player | Odds | Results |
|---|---|---|
Sebastian Berhalter | 1+ (+255) | |
Kevin De Bruyne | 1+ (+310) | |
Christian Pulisic | 1+ (+350) | |
Diego Moreira | 1+ (+340) | |
Timothy Weah | 1+ (+380) | |
Weston McKennie | 1+ (+370) | |
Antonee Robinson | 1+ (+390) | |
Jeremy Doku | 1+ (+390) |
Pulisic, Seb Berhalter, Alex Freeman and Malik Tillman are responsible for the four assists the U.S. has notched across their first four matches. Belgium has five assists to date, one each from Trossard, Lukaku, Hans Vanaken, Nicolas Raskin and Thomas Meunier.
*Props via DraftKings
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