USMNT to Face Belgium in Round of 16 at FIFA World Cup 2026 - RAW CHILI

SEATTLE – The U.S. Men’s National Team will continue its FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign on Monday, July 6 against Belgium in the Round of 16 at Seattle Stadium in Seattle, Wash. Kickoff is 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET on FOX, Peacock and Telemundo.

U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM – FIFA WORLD CUP 2026

DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire; 1/0), Matt Freese (New York City FC; 18/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 55/0)

DEFENDERS (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 20/1), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 43/3), Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP; 21/2), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 30/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 85/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 39/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 57/5), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 41/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 28/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 10/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth/ENG; 57/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps; 17/2), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 70/12), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 42/10), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 47/0), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER; 34/4)

FORWARDS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 59/9), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 30/12), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 41/13), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 89/33), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille/FRA; 53/7), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 21/7), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 15/2)

USA RESULTS — 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP

Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
USA Goal Scorers

June 12
Paraguay
Los Angeles Stadium; Inglewood, Calif.
4-1 W
Own Goal, Balogun (2), Reyna

June 19
Australia
Seattle Stadium; Seattle, Wash.
2-0 W
Own Goal, Freeman

June 25
Türkiye
Los Angeles Stadium; Inglewood, Calif.
2-3 L
Trusty, Berhalter

July 1
Bosnia and Herzegovina
San Francisco Bay Area Stadium; Santa Clara, Calif.
2-0 W
Balogun, Tillman

USA SCHEDULE — 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP

Date
Opponent
Venue
Time (PT)
TV Info

July 6
Belgium
Seattle Stadium; Seattle, Wash.
5 p.m.
FOX, Peacock, Telemundo

TOTAL KNOCKOUT

After defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in the Round of 32, the USMNT earned its second knockout stage win ever. The first win came on June 17, 2002 in the Round of 16 against Mexico in a 2-0 victory. Having topped Group D with two wins in three games, the USMNT put on a dominant display scoring at least two goals for the fourth consecutive tournament match. The team is now up to 10 goals in this edition of the World Cup. The most recent game was spearheaded by brilliant individual efforts by Folarin Balogun to open the scoring and Malik Tillman who scored a free kick to close the game out, despite the U.S. going down to 10 men.

TILLMAN TIME

In a Man of the Match performance, Malik Tillman put an exclamation point on a dominant display by the USMNT by scoring his first World Cup goal. After a red card was issued to Folarin Balogun, the U.S. went down to 10 men with the score at 1-0, before Tillman stepped up on a set piece, placing a picture-perfect freekick into the top left corner. Tillman has been a mainstay in the lineup during this World Cup, as one of only seven players to feature in all four matches so far.

USA ROSTER NOTESTwenty-three of the 26 players on the roster have seen minutes at this World Cup. The players still yet to appear are defender Max Arfsten, back-up goalkeeper Chris Brady and midfielder Cristian Roldan, who has been dealing with a slight injury.Seven players have appeared in all four matches: midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, defender Sergiño Dest, defender Alex Freeman, midfielder Weston McKennie, forward Ricardo Pepi, midfielder Gio Reyna and midfielder Malik Tillman.The USA starting lineup against Bosnia and Herzegovina was the second time in the tournament those 11 players have started together, the first coming in the tournament opener against Paraguay.After the U.S. victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Matt Freese became the winningest goalkeeper in USMNT World Cup history, surpassing James Douglas (2 wins in 1930) and Brad Friedel (2 wins in 2002) with three wins at the tournament.Freese also earned his second World Cup clean sheet against Bosnia and Herzegovina, moving him into a three-way tie with Jimmy Douglas (1930) and Matt Turner(2022) for most all-time by a USMNT goalkeeper.Folarin Balogun became the third player to score three or more goals in a single edition of a FIFA World Cup for the USA after Bert Patenaude (four in 1930) and Landon Donovan (three in 2010).With three goals in as many matches this tournament, Balogun is now tied with Brian McBride for fourth place all-time in World Cup goals among USMNT players,The victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina was the USMNT’s 13th win in World Cup play.With 89 caps, Christian Pulisic is the most-capped player on the roster.Following Pulisic in terms of seniority are Tim Ream (85), Weston McKennie (70), Brenden Aaronson (59), Matt Turner (56), Tyler Adams (57), Antonee Robinson (57) and Tim Weah (53).16 players on the World Cup roster featured in the USMNT’s most recent encounter with Belgium on Mar. 28, 2026, a 5-2 defeat: Max Arfsten, Folarin Balogun, Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Freeman, Weston McKennie, Mark McKenzie, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Cristian Roldan, Joe Scally, Malik Tillman, Matt Turner, Tim WeahThe U.S. World Cup Team players represent clubs in 10 different countries: USA/Canada – MLS (8), England (5), France (3), Germany (3), Italy (2), Netherlands (2), Mexico (1), Scotland (1) and Spain (1).The players represent hometowns in 12 different states: New York (4), California (3), Pennsylvania (3), Texas (3), New Jersey (2), Alabama (1), Delaware (1), Florida (1), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Missouri (1) and Ohio (1).Four other players have hometowns in three different foreign countries: England (2), Germany (1) and Netherlands (1).Malik Tillman joins Folarin Balogun, Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Freeman, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Auston Trusty, Tim Weah, Haji Wright as one of the nine players on the roster that have scored a World Cup goal. Balogun and Reyna both netted against Paraguay in the 4-1 opening victory, while Freeman scored a decisive header in the second group stage match against Australia. Berhalter and Trusty both scored for the U.S. against Türkiye, while Balogun scored again in the knockout stage against Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Weah opened the scoring in the USA’s 1-1 draw with Wales to open the World Cup, Pulisic provided the crucial game-winner in the 1-0 victory against IR Iran, and Wright scored in the 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the Round of 16.All 26 players on the World Cup roster earned caps in official competitions this cycle.The USMNT has a perfect 7W-0L-0D at Seattle Stadium, the most recent result coming in the second group stage match, against 2-0 victory against Australia.USA- BELGIUMMonday marks the eighth all-time meeting between the USA and Belgium. The USMNT has a 1W-6L-0D record over those seven meetings.The USA and Belgium last clashed on Mar. 28, 2026, in Atlanta, Ga., in a 5-2 Belgium win. Patrick Agyemang and Weston McKennie scored the USA’s two goals in that match.The USMNT has faced Belgium twice during the World Cup, including a 3-0 victory in both teams’ opening match of the inaugural 1930 edition of the tournament. The two sides met again in a closely contested knockout stage match during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where Belgium earned a 2-1 win in extra time.BELGIUM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid/SPA; 113/0), Senne Lammens (Manchester United/ENG; 2/0), Mike Penders (RC Strasbourg/GER; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Timothy Castagne (Fulham/ENG; 67/2), Zeno Debast (Sporting CP/POR; 26/1), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton and Hove Albion/ENG; 23/4), Koni De Winter (AC Milan/ITA; 8/0), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge KV/BEL; 13/1), Thomas Meunier (Lille/FRA; 83/11), Nathan Ngoy (Lille/FRA; 6/0), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge KV/BEL; 5/0), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 36/1)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli/ITA; 123/38), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa/ENG; 32/1), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers/SCO; 17/2), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa/ENG; 89/15), Hans Vanaken (Clib Brugg/BEL; 38/7), Axel Witsel (Girona FC; 138/12)

FORWARDS (5): Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta/ITA; 33/6), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City/ENG; 46/7), Matias Fernandez-Pardo (Lille/FRA; 5/0), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli/ITA;130/92), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica/POR; 32/6), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg/GER; 4/0), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan/ITA; 26/3), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal/ENG;55/14

IN FOCUS: BELGIUM

The USMNT has faced the Red Devils on seven prior occasions. The first meeting—the United States’ lone victory—came in the form of a 3-0 victory at the inaugural 1930 World Cup in Montevideo, Uruguay. That contest nearly 100 years ago marked the USMNT’s first-ever match at a World Cup and still stands as the joint-largest margin of victory for the Stars and Stripes at the World Cup, recently matched by the USMNT’s 4-1 victory against Paraguay to open this year’s tournament.

Since then, the United States has lost six consecutive matches against Belgium, with the two most recent encounters coming in the Round of 16 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and a pre-World Cup tune-up in Atlanta earlier this year. Notably, the last competitive match against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup saw USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard make a single-match World Cup record 15 saves.

Belgium has not lost a match since March 20, 2025, a 3-1 defeat against Ukraine in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs and head coach Rudi Garcia’s first match in charge. Since then, Belgium has accrued an eye-popping 11W-0L-6D record across all competitions (FIFA World Cup, UEFA World Cup qualification, UEFA Nations League play-offs, friendlies), buoyed by a +40-goal differential in those 17 matches.

The Red Devils topped Group J in UEFA World Cup qualifiers with a 5W-0L-3D record which featured victories against Wales (2), Liechtenstein (2) and Kazakhstan. In the build-up to its 15th World Cup, Belgium faced a quartet of World Cup-qualified opponents: defeating the USMNT 5-2 in Atlanta, settling for a 1-1 draw against Mexico at Chicago’s Soldier Field, beating Croatia 2-0 in Rijeka, Croatia, and downing Tunisia 5-0 in Brussels, Belgium.

At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Belgium won Group G thanks to a big 5-1 win against New Zealand in the group stage finale after posting back-to-back draws against Egypt and IR Iran to start the tournament. In its first knockout stage match, the RedDevils erased a 2-0 deficit against Senegal in the final minutes of regular time to win 3-2 in extra time at Seattle Stadium.

BELGIUM HEAD COACH RUDI GARCIA

The Red Devils are helmed by 62-year-old French manager Rudi Garcia. Appointed to lead Belgium on Jan. 24, 2025, Garcia has amassed a 11W-1L-6D record leading the European side. Garcia and the USMNT’s Pochettino have faced off twice. The pair first met in March 2021, in a French Ligue 1 contest where Pochettino’s PSG defeated Garcia’s Lyon 4-2 at Parc Olympique Lyonnais. More recently, the pair met in the pre-World Cup clash in Atlanta in which Garcia’s Red Devils defeated the USMNT.

As a player, Garcia spent the entirety of his 13-year career as a midfielder in his native France. He played for Lille OSC (1983-88), Stade Malherbe Caen (1988-91), FC Martigues (1991-92) and AS Corbeil-Essonnes(1994-96); with the latter, he developed in the youth ranks when his father coached the side. Notably, Garcia’s first professional goal was the winning goal for Lille against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes in 1984.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Garcia became the head coach of AS Corbeil-Essonnes in 1994. He acted as a player-coach for the lower-division side between 1994-96 before becoming the full-time coach in 1997. After that, he spent the majority of his coaching career in France, leading AS Saint-Étienne (2001), Dijon FCO (2002-07), Le Mans FC (2007-08), Lille (2008-13), Olympique de Marseille (2016-19) and Olympique Lyonnais (2019-21). Outside of France, Garcia led Italian Serie A sides AS Roma (2013-16) and SSC Napoli (2023), as well as Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr FC (2022-23). The 2010-11 season was Garcia’s most successful; the former Lille player led the side to a Ligue 1 title, the Coupe de France and was named the Ligue 1 and France Football Manager of the Year.