How the US and Belgium match up, prediction for…
SEATTLE — The unbelievable determination by FIFA to reinstate Folarin Balogun on Sunday nearly overshadowed that there may be a match to be performed Monday, in which 21 gamers apart from the U.S. striker can be on the subject at all occasions — effectively, barring another purple card.
That match qualifies as the most important the U.S. national workforce has performed since at least the 2002 quarterfinal loss to Germany. Not only is it a likelihood to get back to that stage for the first time since, but it’s occurring on home soil, on prime-time tv, against an opponent that — while actually elite — appears to qualify as beatable.
The scores will nearly assuredly set information. And if the U.S. can win, it would go a long means toward altering what the very sport of soccer means right here in America.
The Post breaks down the matchup between the U.S. and Belgium.
When the U.S. has the ball
With the exception of Turkey — a recreation in which Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup was rotated past recognition — this is the first opponent the U.S. has confronted that received’t sit back and take in strain.
Mauricio Pochettino attends a training session in Seattle, Sunday, July 5, 2026, forward of a World Cup spherical of 16 soccer match against Belgium. AP Photo/Manu Fernandez
That modifications the contours of the match considerably. Pochettino will presumably need his workforce to play the same means, but whether or not it will possibly execute that model against Belgium differs solely from doing so against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Will he dare commit as many males ahead understanding Belgium’s velocity in assault? And can the Americans keep possession as they’ve against a workforce that’s held on to the ball barely more than them throughout the match, at 57.6 % of whole possession in contrast to the 57.1 % for the U.S., per FotMob?
Folarin Balogun #20 of the United States attends a training session forward of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match at University of Washington on July 05, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. FIFA via Getty Images
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More than doubtless, that will lead the U.S. to counterattack more than it has; those are moments in which it wants to be fast and decisive given Belgium’s counter-pressing skills. Lose the ball in buildup and it is going to be an issue.
That said, Belgium’s protection has shown itself to be weak. It ranks thirty second at the World Cup in anticipated targets allowed, and Pochettino’s aspect ought to have the ability to break it down, even without as a lot possession as it’s used to having.
When Belgium has the ball
So a lot of the puzzle Pochettino can have spent this week attempting to clear up is how to deal with Jérémy Doku, the famous person Belgian winger who terrorized his aspect back in March. The good factor is that 5-2 defeat in which the Americans performed a back 4 and tasked Tim Weah both with pushing up the subject and dealing with Doku 1-on-1 can have primarily zero tactical resemblance to this recreation.
Trying to keep away from placing anybody at all in 1-on-1 conditions against him can be crucial. Much like Christian Pulisic for the U.S., Doku can create and beat gamers off the dribble in a means that no one else on his workforce can.
Senegal’s Ismail Jakobs (14) tackles Belgium’s Jeremy Doku (11) during the World Cup spherical of 32 soccer match between Belgium and Senegal in Seattle, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
Much of Belgium’s system relies not just on getting him the ball, but on controlling the wings in common. Fullbacks Timothy Castagne and Maxim De Cuyper will push up high, permitting the wingers to invert, and strikers Charles De Ketelaere and Romelu Lukaku — the latter will doubtless come on for the former in the second half, based on the sample of this match so far — to obtain crosses in the box. Belgium also shoots the ball often, main the match in whole makes an attempt.
One wrinkle is the means the Red Devils improved against Senegal in the Round of 32 after Doku and Kevin De Bruyne — their longtime midfield famous person — got here off after 56 minutes. Their tempo in specific regarded a lot sooner. That appears to create some choice dilemmas for supervisor Rudi Garcia, though leaving out either participant can be a huge call.
Intangibles
How Balogun’s return impacts the environment around the recreation is an irresistible storyline. The U.S. may hardly include its delight at training Sunday. Belgium, which ready all week assuming it wouldn’t have to face Balogun, was understandably furious. The crowd, it’s protected to assume, can be fully behind Balogun and the United States.
This dynamic, one has to think about, will benefit the U.S.
Prediction
2-1 USA in further time.
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