Last night’s Belgium v USA World Cup match would have been a tense affair under any circumstances. The USMNT has been on a hot streak for its last few games, the nation’s reputation has been boosted by reports from visiting fans, and this is a knockout game with everything to play for.
But on top of all that came the intense controversy around Donald Trump’s intervention to boost the USMNT, with the president bragging about how he put pressure on FIFA to allow star striker Folarin Balogun to play despite a match ban. In comments in the Oval Office, he outright admitted interference, saying, “I asked for a review by FIFA.”
Trump’s actions left the soccer world aghast. The Belgian Football Association described the move as “astonishing”, European soccer governing body UEFA said it was “incomprehensible and unjustifiable”, and Norway’s coach said it was a “bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup.”
But it came down to the Belgian national team to deliver the most crushing verdict at Seattle Stadium in the form of a complete rout of the USMNT with four goals to one. The Guardian reports that Belgium took the pitch determined to break the United States, with the Belgian coach saying:
“Let’s be honest: we held a meeting when we heard the news. We told ourselves we needed to do our talking on the pitch. That’s what we did today. I’m very proud of the team.”
To hammer the point home, the team took to social media to deliver two simple words:
Overturn this. 🧏♂️ #USABEL pic.twitter.com/KcBAJp3Z7d
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 7, 2026
“Overturn this.”
Total Belgian supremacy
The replies are an even split of Americans arguing that while Belgium might have been victorious on the soccer pitch, the USA is still superior. One said, “We don’t even care about soccer here, we just showed support for our country,” and others argued that Belgium should be more grateful to the United States for saving it in World War II.
But there are just as many congratulating Belgium for its triumph. @XJamesOlson said: “Congratulations from an American. I am embarrassed that my president intervened in this match. Delighted that you played so brilliantly.” @Antoniosteve said, “Thank you for putting corruption in its place.” @ForbiddenDiary said, “A life long US soccer fan. Congrats Belgium. Total embarrassment for us all around.”
Belgium will go on to play Spain on Friday for a place in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the USMNT will have to process their loss and can only wonder if things might have gone differently if they didn’t have this red-hot political controversy hanging over them during a key match.
