July 1, 2014, will live on in American soccer lore forever. On one side of the coin, Tim Howard’s 15 saves against Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16 will go down as arguably the most stunning display of goalkeeping in World Cup history.
On the other side of the coin…imagine if Chris Wondolowski had scored.
A little over 12 years later, the same teams meet again on Monday, not in Brazil but in Seattle. The USMNT hasn’t been to a World Cup quarterfinal since 2002. Belgium’s last World Cup, in 2022, saw it crash out in the group stage four years after losing to eventual champion France in the 2018 semifinals. Overarching all of that is Folarin Balogun, who was shown a red card in the Round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, only to see said red card suspended by FIFA on Sunday.
It’d be a great time for the USMNT to make history, wouldn’t it?
How Belgium got here
After winning Group G with a win and two draws, the Red Devils fell behind Senegal 2-0 in the Round of 32. That’s when things got crazy. Romelu Lukaku made it 2-1 in the 86th minute before Youri Tielemans leveled it in the 89th to send it to extra time. Things got crazier from there: Belgium was awarded a stunning penalty after a check of VAR, and Tielemans scored from the spot to give Belgium a 3-2 win.
Needless to say, Belgium should count itself very fortunate to be in this position. Outside of a 5-1 win over New Zealand on the final day of group stage action, it’s hard to point to a match where it’s been effective across all 90 minutes.
The biggest question for the USMNT vs. Belgium: Will Folarin Balogun’s inclusion be the difference, or a letdown?
The extraordinary decision to suspend Balogun’s red card stunned the footballing world, given it was a rather unprecedented move after it was believed that U.S. Soccer would be unable to appeal it. To be fair, if the shoe were on the other foot, U.S. fans would be beside themselves.
However it happened, the USMNT have been handed an incredible lifeline. None of this is to say that the U.S. would have been completely out of luck without its top scorer on the pitch. The fact is that Balogun is a striker the program has needed for ages, and neither he nor his teammates can squander this opportunity, not with the chance to do something that hasn’t been done in nearly a generation.
USMNT vs. Belgium head-to-head
Belgium has dominated this series: six wins and a loss. That includes March’s 5-2 win in Atlanta and, of course, the 2014 Round of 16. The last time the U.S. beat Belgium was at their first meeting, the first-ever World Cup in 1930. Bart McGhee, Tom Florie, and Bert Patenaude all scored in that one in a 3-0 win.
USMNT vs. Belgium prediction: USA 1-2 BEL
My heart says that the U.S. wins this one. My head says that things will be much closer than they were in March, but the result will be the same. Red Devils move on to the final eight.
How to watch, live stream United States vs. Belgium
Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle
Kickoff time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FOX (English); Telemundo (Spanish)
Streaming: FOX One (English); Peacock (Spanish)
USA 3-2. March was a heavily rotated squad (some of those dudes not even on the WC roster). Recent form, USA on fire and Belgium is “ehh”. USA hits a late winner in a back and forth affair.