Real heartbreak came early in the second half. With his team trailing 2-1, American keeper Matt Freese, positioned above the 18-yard-box, was about to clear the ball. But he stopped his kicking motion, allowing De Ketelaere to take it from him. The ball came to Vanaken, who took advantage of an unprotected net to score and give Belgium a 3-1 lead. De Ketelaere, who plays for Atalanta in Italy’s Serie A, had now played a role in all three of Belgium’s goals.
The U.S., to its credit, fought. Sebastian Berhalter sent an attempt just wide right before the 80th minute: despite the near-miss, Berhalter pumped his arms, trying to rile up the crowd, and his teammates. Balogun, man of the last 30 hours, had his chance a few minutes later: but he fired a shot right at Courtois, who stuffed him. Balogun was quiet on the evening: in a few instances, he opted to pass balls that looked ripe for shooting.
In the 93rd minute, Belgium showed its class, its muscle, and why the country reached the World Cup semis eight years ago, and is a threat to do so again. The weakened Americans tried to haplessly clear the ball against Belgium’s press: Chris Richards bounced a pass off of Vanaken, and the ball found Lukaku for the it’s really over goal. Belgium is deep enough to bring Lukaku, the country’s all-time leading goal scorer, off the bench: he didn’t check in until the 67th minute, his team already up by two goals.