Tag: Charles De Ketelaere

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Merino strikes late as Spain beats Belgium 2-1 to set up France semifinal clash

Super sub Mikel Merino broke Belgian hearts and sent Spain through to a World Cup semifinal against France with a late goal in a gripping 2-1 win on Friday.

The stunning finish at SoFi Stadium sets up a tantalizing showdown between European champions Spain and the tournament favorites France and the red-hot Kylian Mbappe in Dallas on Tuesday.

But it was heartbreak for Belgium’s substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens, sent on late, who spilled a shot into the path of Merino.

The dramatic finale came after Fabian Ruiz had opened the scoring for Spain, before Charles De Ketelaere grabbed one back for Belgium against the run of play before halftime.

Welcoming Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku back to the starting XI, Belgium were rocked by a hamstring injury during the warm-ups to captain Youri Tielemans that hit them hard.

Having already lost Amadou Onana to a ruptured ACL, the Red Devils would have to play a near second-choice midfield against the Spanish possession masters.

Ruiz, brought in for Pedri, wasted no time combining with Rodri to dominate the ball and Barcelona’s teen sensation Lamine Yamal curled an early shot just wide of the far post.

But opposing winger Doku was bright for Belgium, cutting in from the left to feed De Ketelaere, the striker fresh from his brace against the United States on Monday.

Still, it was Spain who struck first. On the half-hour mark, Pedro Porro played a sharp one-two with Lamine Yamal before expertly cutting it back from near the byline to Dani Olmo.

Olmo’s shot was parried by Thibaut Courtois, but fell to Ruiz, who fired it home.

Suddenly it was all Spain. They pinged passes around the Belgian half as though this World Cup quarter-final was a training exercise, laid on for an A-list crowd featuring Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Noel Gallagher.

But Belgium, having fought back astonishingly late from 2-0 down in the round-of-32 to dispatch Senegal, did not panic.

They grabbed one back in the 41st minute. De Bruyne slid a through ball wide to Timothy Castagne. His cross found De Ketelaere, who perfectly timed his run and outmuscled Barcelona youngster Pau Cubarsi to head home.

It was the first goal Spain had conceded this World Cup.

Improbably, Belgium almost grabbed another before half-time. Breaking from a Spain corner, De Ketelaere’s pass to a totally clear Doku was barely intercepted by Olmo.

Yamal grew into the game after the break, nearly finding Mikel Oyarzabal with an incisive cross that was well blocked by a charging Courtois. (JapanToday)

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U.S. eliminated from World Cup, losing 4-1 to Belgium

The United States’ hopes for a deep World Cup run at home ended when Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and assisted on another goal, helping Belgium expose the Americans’ defensive liabilities in a 4-1 win Monday night that earned a quarterfinal berth.

While the U.S. was boosted by the presence of star forward Folarin Balogun, whose one-game red-card suspension was controversially lifted by FIFA, American defenders were at fault in a pair of first-half goals and goalkeeper Matt Freese’s gaffe gave the Red Devils a third early in the second half.

Second-half substitute Romelu Lukaku added Belgium’s final goal in the third minute of stoppage time.

Seeking its first World Cup title, Belgium knocked the U.S. out in the round of 16 for the second time in 12 years and extended its unbeaten streak to 18 games. The Red Devils play 2010 champion Spain on Friday at Inglewood, California, for a semifinal berth against France or Morocco.

Malik Tillman tied the score 1-1 midway through the first half with his second free kick goal of the tournament, but the Americans conceded just 61 seconds after the ensuing kickoff. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino showed his frustration by kicking a rack in front of the bench, sending four water bottles flying.

American star Christian Pulisic could only watch from the bench after injuring his right foot when he hit a boot of Belgium captain Youri Tielemans on a 52nd-minute shot attempt. Pulisic favored his foot after that and was replaced seven minutes later.

After winning three games in a World Cup for the first time in this expanded 48-nation tournament, the U.S. failed in its quest to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 and lost to Belgium for the seventh straight time since a victory at the initial tournament in 1930. The Americans have dropped 11 of their last 12 games against European opponents, winning only their round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

A heralded generation led by Pulisic, Westin McKennie and Tyler Adams only partially accomplished their goal of lifting soccer’s stature closer to that of the NFL, MLB and the NBA.

De Ketelaere put Belgium ahead in the eighth minute, the first time in this year’s World Cup the U.S. conceded first.

Tillman’s goal in the 31st minute energized a largely red-white-and-blue crowd of 66,925 at Lumen Field, but De Ketelaere damped that and assisted on Hans Vanaken’s 57th-minute goal after Freese lost control of the ball in front of his net.

All six CONCACAF nations have been eliminated, with the co-hosts U.S., Mexico and Canada all falling in the round of 16. All quarterfinalists will all come from Europe, South America and Africa, reinforcing the weakness of CONCACAF and Asia.

Belgium, which left stars Jérémy Doku and Kevin DeBruyne on the bench, pressed from the start and exposed a defense that was regarded as the Americans’ weak spot.

Dodi Lukébakio made a long diagonal pass to the opposite corner, leading to the opening goal. Leandro Troussard controlled the ball and his cross was blocked by Alex Freeman and popped into the air.

Freeman headed the ball into the penalty area and Timothy Castagne charged after it and hooked a centering pass around Chris Richards. De Ketelaere split Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson and with his right foot redirected the ball into an open net. (JapanToday)