In truth, it’s amazing they lasted to extra time.
Belgium dominated the round of 16 tie against the U.S. from the first whistle with a quick and inventive attacking quartet that the American defenders had trouble containing. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard made more saves than any goalkeeper in the World Cup since people have been collecting such statistics.
Although the U.S. had brief spells of possession during the first half, these became less frequent as the game progressed, and as the game neared the 90th minute, the Belgians threatened to overrun the American defense. Still, they held on and remained dangerous on the break, but too often their final ball was over hit or poorly chosen.
As extra time loomed, it looked as though the colossal performance of Tim Howard in the American goal might be enough to bring the game to penalties, but the introduction of the 21-year-old Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku changed everything. In the second minute of extra-time, he barged past an American defender and laid the ball off to Kevin De Bruyne, who rounded three defenders and slotted the ball into the bottom corner. After 90 minutes without a goal, after countless misses from De Bruyne, the stadium and Belgian bench erupted.
Ten minutes later it was De Bruyne’s chance to thread a ball through to Lukaku, who hammered the ball into the net from a close angle. In a moment of desperation – or was it inspiration? – American coach Jürgen Klinsmann introduced 19-year-old Julian Green to save the day and with his first, scuffed touch, Green scored to give the Americans hope. He shouldn’t have bothered, as captain and American talisman Clint Dempsey wasted a great free kick routine that put him one on one with the keeper. It was the last meaningful chance of the game, and the Americans go home in the round of sixteen for the second World Cup in a row.
Belgium’s victory ensures that all 8 group winners go through to the quarterfinals, a first in World Cup history. Highlights of the next round include a matchup between old foes France and Germany, and a tie between underdogs Costa Rica and last World Cup’s runner-ups, the Netherlands.