Belgium capitalised on a string of costly defensive errors to dispatch the United States 4-1 and secure their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

The Red Devils punished the co-hosts’ mistakes throughout the contest, ending the American dream on home soil and booking a mouth-watering clash with Spain.

Here are our Scout Notes from the victory, featuring match stats from our World Cup Toolkit page.

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USA 1-4 BELGIUM

• Goals: De Ketelaere x2, Vanaken, Lukaku | Tillman
• Assists: Raskin, Trossard, De Ketelaere, Vanaken
• Tackles bonus: Tielemans, Raskin
• Top points scorers: De Ketelaere (19), Vanaken (13), Lukaku (8), Raskin (8),

TEAM STATS

PLAYER STATS

SCOUT NOTES

• The USA named an unchanged side, even after Folarin Balogun ($6.0m) received a red card in the previous match. His suspension was controversially overturned, allowing him to lead the co-hosts’ attack once again.
• Belgium made one change in defence. Nathan Ngoy ($3.7m) replaced Arthur Theate ($4.5m) at centre-back, with Brandon Mechele ($3.9m) moving across to the right side, accommodating Ngoy to the left of him. The midfield changed completely. Amadou Onana ($5.9m) and Nicolas Raskin ($5.3m) started in the deeper roles, while Youri Tielemans ($6.1m) played ahead of them. That meant Kevin De Bruyne ($7.5m) dropped to the bench, which was arguably the biggest surprise in the line-up.

“The plan was that, if we needed Kevin, we would bring him on. But we didn’t need to because we scored the goals. Then, when Amadou got injured, we needed Hans more. Obviously he’s not an attacking midfielder like Kevin, but he gives us height for both attacking and defensive set pieces. As we had lost Amadou, it was important to keep that defensive confidence in the air with Hans’ presence.” – Rudi Garcia on Kevin De Bruyne’s benching

• De Bruyne wasn’t the only high-profile omission from the starting XI. Dodi Lukébakio ($5.6m) started on the right wing, which saw Leandro Trossard ($6.6m) switch to the left. That left Jérémy Doku ($7.5m) on the bench at kick-off.

“You can’t generalise, every match has its own story. I was still uncertain about the starting XI this morning before the team meeting. There was the Senegal match where we played 120 minutes. Some players weren’t yet at 100% yesterday, and I wanted to play with a team that was at 100%. I wanted pace up front. That’s why I wanted Charles and Dodi, because I knew we could hurt them by getting in behind them, particularly down their left side, our right side. I think the plan worked well.” – Rudi Garcia on his team selection

• There was another notable selection call in attack. Charles De Ketelaere ($5.6m) started ahead of Romelu Lukaku ($7.4m) for a third consecutive match, despite Lukaku making a strong impact from the bench in recent games.

“When you have the possibility of bringing on Romelu Lukaku and bringing on Jérémy Doku, you know you have cards in your hand to hurt the opposition. I have a very complete squad and every player is important.” – Rudi Garcia

• The USA couldn’t reproduce the level of performance they had shown in previous rounds, and the statistics reflected that. Although the hosts edged possession, Belgium dominated where it mattered. They generated almost four times as much xG (expected goals), created four big chances – the USA failed to produce a single one – and registered more than twice as many shots.
• The USA’s only goal arrived from a direct free-kick. Balogun won the foul on the edge of the area, and Malik Tillman ($6.1m) scored for the second consecutive match after a huge deflection left Thibaut Courtois ($4.9m) stranded. Aside from that, the hosts offered very little. A slip from Mechele gifted Balogun a clear run on goal, but he fired straight at Courtois. Fantasy managers also had to contend with Sergiño Dest ($4.3m) coming off at half-time, before Christian Pulisic ($7.0m) limped off with an injury around the hour mark.
• Belgium looked dangerous from the opening whistle. Timothy Castagne ($4.7m) forced an early save from distance before the breakthrough arrived just nine minutes in. Raskin drove into the box and saw his effort fall kindly for De Ketelaere, who tapped home from close range. The ‘out of position’ De Ketelaere struck again moments after the USA levelled, powering home Leandro Trossard’s ($6.6m) pinpoint cross.
• The Belgium frontline continued to cause problems after the break. A long ball tempted the USA goalkeeper off his line, but his attempted clearance ricocheted off De Ketelaere and into the path of Vanaken, who finished from distance despite Tim Ream’s attempt to recover.
• Belgium’s fourth goal also came from a defensive mistake. Richards sliced his clearance against Vanaken, and the loose ball fell perfectly for Lukaku, who had replaced De Ketelaere in the 67th minute. The sequence also earned Vanaken a Fantasy assist, taking him to a 13-point haul.
• Despite the win, Fantasy managers are left with a few head-scratchers regarding Belgium assets and game-time. De Bruyne didn’t feature at all, while Doku and Lukaku only played brief cameos. On the one hand, they’re fresh for the quarter-final against Spain. On the other, does Garcia really alter a team that won so handsomely?
• More significantly, Onana suffered a serious knee injury. It was later confirmed by journalist David Ornstein that Onana had ruptured his ACL, ruling him out for the rest of the tournament and an extended spell beyond it.

• Belgium deserved their victory, and recent performances suggest they are building real momentum. They have now scored 12 goals across their last three matches. Defensively, though, they still haven’t looked entirely convincing.
• A quarter-final against Spain now awaits, and that presents a much tougher test. Spain have statistically been the tournament’s strongest defensive side, so Belgium may find chances much harder to come by. That also tempers the appeal of their Fantasy assets heading into the next round.