Belgium hammered USA 4-1 in Seattle on Monday and their players trolled Donald Trump with his signature dance moves after Romelu Lukaku completed the scoring.
The host nation produced a very disappointing display as Belgium romped into the quarter-finals in the game that was mired in controversy in the build-up.
Charles de Ketelaere scored twice, Hans Vanaken netted the third and Lukaku rounded off the scoring in a resounding win after the US had been level through Malik Tillman on 31 minutes.
Controversy surrounded Folarin Balogun’s inclusion after the USA striker was handed a one-match ban for his red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but that punishment was then suspended for a year by FIFA.
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It transpired that US President Donald Trump had contacted FIFA asking for them to review Balogun’s ban and the striker was duly allowed to play in the crunch last 16 contest.
The decision was met with anger and accusations of corruption across the world but it ultimately did USA no good and the Belgian players rubbed salt into the world by hitting the Trump dance after Lukaku scored the fourth.
Goalkeeper Thibault Courtois also stuck the knife in, saying Belgium were more confident in this round than the last because Senegal are a better team than the Americans.
‘The lack of respect we have received in the last few days…’, the Real Madrid star said after the match. ‘That the US would easily beat us, that we are no longer a good team.
‘I understand that they want to hype up the US, but I felt more confident than against Senegal, because they had a better team. I think we proved today that we are a good team. We pinned them down from the start.’
Midfielder Nicolas Raskin added: ‘A lot has happened off the pitch over the last two days. There was a sense of injustice within the squad, and we were determined to respond on the field.’
US manager Mauricio Pochettino said the Balogun controversy was not the reason for his team underperforming, but did share his disappointment with some of the reaction to the story.
‘It didn’t affect our performance. It’s not an excuse. It wasn’t our day,’ said the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss.
‘But in a personal way, what is the point to insult or receive a lot of bad messages?
‘It’s a rule for the federation to apply and to try [to overturn the ban]. My position was to train the team. If Balogun is available because FIFA allow for you to have the player, it’s not a problem.
‘I feel disappointed with too many people. They put politics and manipulation, talk about ethics and integrity [first]. If we talk about the history of this game, I am disappointed in a personal way.’
The official X account of the Belgium men’s national team joined in the celebrations, posting pictures of Lukaku with the caption: ‘Overturn this.’
The Belgium manager, Rudi Garcia, revealed that Balogun came to speak to him after the game, saying: ‘Balogun came to talk to me, I liked that. It’s not his fault, he’s not the one to blame. I told him that. I appreciate he came to talk to me.’
Belgium’s reward is a quarter-final contest with Spain after the European champions beat Portugal 1-0 with a late Mikel Merino winner.