US faces Belgium for spot in World Cup quarterfinals, hoping for first back-to-back knockout wins

SEATTLE (AP) — After a successful card trick that made Folarin Balogun's suspension disappear, the United States will try to win back-to-back World Cup knockout games for the first time and reach its first quarterfinal since 2002.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino figures to have his top-choice lineup available Monday when the Americans — ranked 17th in the world ahead of the tournament — face No. 9 Belgium in a rematch of the 2014 round of 16 game in Brazil, won 2-1 by the Red Devils in extra time.

“They have a lot of players that can hurt you, and we have to be ready,” Christian Pulisic, the top American star, said Sunday. “We have to clinical in a lot ways.”

At stake is a quarterfinal berth against Spain or Portugal and the chance to play France or Morocco in a semifinal.

Belgium overcame a two-goal, 86th-minute deficit to defeat Senegal 3-2 over extra time in the round of 32. The Red Devils beat the U.S. 12 years ago on goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, and again 5-2 in a March friendly at Atlanta.

“We’re two very different teams now than we were in March,” U.S. captain Tim Ream said.

Belgium isn't giving much weight to this year's earlier meeting.

“That 2-5 against the U.S. in March gives a distorted picture,” defender Maxim De Cuyper said. “It could have ended differently.”

A sellout crowd of 66,000-plus is expected at Lumen Field, where the asking price Sunday for seats in the Hawks Nest triangle above the northern end ranged from $1,840 to $8,050 on FIFA's resale site.

A huge, red-white-and-blue-clad, pro-American crowd serenaded the team with John Denver's “Take Me Home, Country Roads” after the 2-0 group stage win over Australia on June 19. The fan base is known for supporters' pregame march down Occidental Avenue to the stadium before Seattle Sounders games.

“The 12th men, how is called here,” Pochettino said.

After losing their group stage final to Turkey 3-2 on a stoppage-time goal, the Americans entered the knockout rounds with a 10-game, four-year losing streak to European opponents. The U.S. beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 on goals by Balogun and Malik Tillman for just its second World Cup knockout stage win.

Balogun is eligible to play after FIFA suspended his suspension for a red card against Bosnia — a decision that followed a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Reaching the quarterfinals would be a great leap for this group of players trying to boost a sport that lags in U.S. popularity compared to its supreme status in the rest of the world.

“We want to kind of leave our mark on the game and a legacy behind. I want it to be more than just what this moment has created and the hype around it,” midfielder Tyler Adams, the 2022 captain, said Friday. “We know the further that we go, the more success we’re going to have and the growth of the game is going to go.”

Belgium qualified for the 2014 World Cup after a 12-year absence and headed to the tournament with a roster that included goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, De Bruyne and Eden Hazard in the midfield, and Lukaku and Divock Origi in the attack. The Red Devils were first in the FIFA rankings from November 2015 through March 2016 and again from September 2018 through February 2022 but were knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2014, the semifinals in 2018 and the group stage in 2022.

Four players remain from the 2014 roster: Courtois, De Bruyne, Lukaku and midfielder Axel Witsel.

“This is a new era for us. It's true that there are some players from the golden era, as some would like to say,” Courtois said through a translator. “Now we have another generation with younger people, new people willing to do great things and writing a history page for Belgium.”

Pochettino already has become the first U.S. coach with three World Cup wins. American players are obsessed about elevating the sport's American following much closer to the levels of the NFL, MLB and the NBA.

“We’ve all said in one way or another how opportunistic this tournament could be,” Ream explained, “if we have a good tournament and we do things the right way, that it could take us who knows where?”

AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin contributed to this report.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

United States men's national soccer team's Christian Pulisic walks to the field before head coach Mauricio Pochettino threw out the ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Belgium's Romelu Lukaku (9) celebrates his goal against New Zealand during the second half of their World Cup Group G soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, June 26, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Belgium's Romelu Lukaku (9) celebrates after scoring during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Belgium and Senegal in Seattle, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

United States' Christian Pulisic attends a training session in Seattle, Sunday, July 5, 2026, ahead of a World Cup round of 16 soccer match against Belgium. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

United States' Folarin Balogun (20) reacts after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Two Tennessee National Guard members assigned to a crime-fighting patrol in Memphis fatally shot a man Sunday who turned toward the soldiers with a gun during a downtown pursuit, authorities said.

The Guard members are part of a federal task force in Memphis created by President Donald Trump, who last year sent troops and federal agents to Democrat-run cities that he described as overrun with crime. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, had deployed the Guard to support the effort.

Authorities said the soldiers in Memphis were responding with local police to reports of gunshots around 4 a.m. when they began pursuing an armed man fleeing on foot. The guardsmen opened fire after the man turned toward them with his weapon, according to the city's police department.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the man as Tyrin Johnson, 20, and said it is investigating the circumstances of the shooting. No law enforcement officers were injured, the agency added.

Johnson died at the scene after two National Guard medical specialists attempted first aid, Guard spokesperson Lt. Col Darrin Haas said in a statement.

Johnson’s older cousin, Terracle Nelson, 46, said authorities told family members that he had been shot twice in the chest. Authorities on Sunday did not immediately respond to questions about the number of shots fired and TBI declined to comment on Nelson's account of the shooting.

Evaniel Johnson said his grandson had taken classes at Tennessee State University, was the father of a young child and was preparing to help lead the family construction business. He said his grandson was also passionate about making music.

He said he wanted to review findings from investigators and any video of the shooting before making judgment.

“I believed in him, and I know he still had so much life ahead of him,” Johnson said. “The heartbreaking reality is that he will never have the chance to enjoy what we were building together. That is a pain no grandparent should ever have to endure.”

Mayor Paul Young called the shooting an “unfortunate incident” and said he was waiting to see the results of the TBI investigation before commenting further, according to a statement provided by spokesperson Penelope Huston.

A search of online records in federal and state courts Sunday did not immediately show any cases related to Johnson. In Memphis and in Nashville, local court records showed he had a handful of minor traffic violations.

Federal troops have been patrolling the city since October over the objections of Young, a Democrat. The troops are part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, convened by Trump and comprised of federal and local agencies.

The task force has led to more than 10,000 arrests, the U.S. Marshals Service reported in June.

There have been at least four officer-involved shootings tied to the task force, according to TBI data. Two of those shootings occurred in May and did not involve National Guard members discharging their weapons. The TBI also tied the task force to an October shooting, but did not specify which law enforcement agencies were involved.

The TBI and the National Guard did not respond to questions about whether Sunday's shooting was the first instance troops had fired their weapons since they were deployed to the city.

For years, Memphis, whose population exceeds 600,000, has dealt with high violent crime, including assaults, carjackings and homicides. Both Democratic and Republican officials have noted decreases last year in some crime categories, preceding the deployment and paralleling trends across U.S. cities.

In April, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that state and local Democratic officials lacked standing to block the deployment of federal troops in Memphis.

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

FILE - Members from the National Guard working as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force conduct a community safety patrol at Tom Lee Park, Oct. 12, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)