Belgium rubbed salt into the United States’ wounds after knocking the co-hosts out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, celebrating their emphatic 4-1 round of 16 win with a pair of cheeky social media posts that quickly went viral.The Belgian Red Devils appeared to take direct aim at the controversy surrounding Folarin Balogun’s overturned suspension, posting a pointed message on Instagram shortly after the final whistle.
The “Flip This” post goes viral
After his commanding victory in Seattle, Belgium shared an Instagram Story that simply read: “Turn this around.”The remark was widely interpreted as a sarcastic dig at FIFA’s decision to suspend the implementation of Balogun’s automatic one-match ban just a day before the KO clash. Balogun was shown a red card during the United States’ Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering an automatic suspension. However, FIFA later invoked article 27 of its disciplinary code to postpone the ban for a one-year trial period, allowing the striker to feature against Belgium.READ ALSO: After all the drama… Balogun’s controversial FIFA reprieve ends in World Cup with little impactThe decision sparked widespread criticism across the football world, with the Belgian football federation unsuccessfully challenging Balogun’s eligibility before kickoff.Belgium does not stop there.The Red Devils have also reignited the long-running ‘football’ vs ‘soccer’ debate by displaying in X: ‘It’s called FOOTBALL’.The foul play immediately drew backlash from fans, especially after Belgium’s convincing win ended the hosts’ World Cup campaign.
Belgium dominate despite Balogun controversy
On the pitch, Belgium ensured the pre-match controversy became little more than a footnote with a clinical performance.Charles De Ketelaere put in a Man of the Match display, scoring twice and providing an assist as Belgium booked their place in the quarter-finals. Hans Vanaken scored his maiden FIFA World Cup goal, while substitute Romelu Lukaku completed the scoring in stoppage time with his third consecutive World Cup goal.The U.S. threatened briefly when Malik Tillman missed a free kick in the first half, but Belgium responded almost immediately before taking complete control after the break.A costly mistake by goalkeeper Matt Freese gifted Belgium a third goal, and Lukaku capitalized on a late defensive error to wrap up an emphatic victory.READ ALSO: Romelu Lukaku makes unique World Cup history with super-sub-proat as Belgium end USA dreamBalogun, whose availability dominated the headlines before kickoff, failed to justify the attention surrounding FIFA’s decision. The striker, who entered the match with three tournament goals, helped win the free-kick from which Tillman equalized but struggled to influence proceedings afterwards before being substituted late in the contest.The defeat ended the United States’ hopes of reaching the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 and made them the last of the three co-host nations to exit the tournament after Canada and Mexico.