During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in the city of Salvador, Brazil, the last match of the World Cup quarterfinal took place, after which the eighth team was determined, which will compete for the title of world champions.
In the first half of the match, neither team had a significant gameplay advantage. The match started at a high pace and attacks were exchanging in both penalty areas.
Neither team was able to create clear-cut chances in front of the opponents' goal in the first half of the match, but both Thibaut Courtois and Tim Howard had work to do.
The alertness of the Belgian goalkeeper was tested several times by Clint Dempsey, while on the other side of the field Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard tried their luck from distance.
In the second half, the initiative was taken over by the Belgians, who controlled the majority of the match. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klinsmann's players were looking for their chances to defend against the opponent's attacks.
In the second half, T. Howard had even more work to do. The goalkeeper from "Everton" was protecting the US goal from the shots of E. Hazard, Divock Origi, and Vincent Kompany. D. Origi also hit the crossbar once.
At the end of the match, the US footballers could have sent the Belgians home when Chris Wondolowski had a one hundred percent chance to score, but his shot flew into the stands.
The extra time started well for the team led by Marco Wilmots. After a change, Romelu Lukaku played with K. De Bruyne, who outwitted the opponent and sent the ball into the far corner of the goal.
At the edge of defeat, the US players found themselves in the 105th minute of the match when during a quick counterattack, K. De Bruyne repaid the favor to R. Lukaku, who doubled the Belgians' lead.
However, in the second half of extra time, R. Klinsmann's players managed to equalize: after a change, Julian Green scored after a pass from Michael Bradley and beat T. Courtois.
The result could have become level after a well-taken penalty kick, but C. Dempsey missed the ball, which ended up in T. Courtois' hands.
Despite the pressure from the US players, the Belgian national team managed to maintain their advantage and became the eighth participant in the World Cup quarterfinals. Belgium will face the Argentina in the next round.
Belgium 2 - 1 USA
93' [1 - 0] K. De Bruyne
105' [2 - 0] R. Lukaku
107' [2 - 1] L. Green
Starting lineups:
Belgium: Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany (c), Vertonghen, Witsel, De Bruyne, Fellaini, Hazard, Mertens, Van Buyten, Origi.
USA: Howard, Gonzalez, Bradley, Besler, Beasley, Dempsey (c), Bedoya, Jones, Zusi, Cameron, Johnson.
