King Philippe to attend Belgium's World Cup quarter-final against Spain

Belgium’s King Philippe will be travelling to the US to watch the Red Devils compete against Spain in the quarter-final of the World Cup.

The quarter-final between Spain and Belgium will take place on Friday at 21.00 Belgian time at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Belgium secured its place after thrashing the US 4–1, even after US president Donald Trump intervened in a controversial decision by Fifa, the world football governing body, to declare American striker Folarin Balogun eligible to play.

Balogun, one of the US team’s best players, was suspended following a red card in a previous match. But after Trump called Fifa president Gianni Infantino personally and asked him to review the suspension, it was reversed.

The Belgian Royal Palace had expressed hope ahead of the game that “fair play and the best team may prevail” in the match.

And while the Belgian Football Association had gone into the match with some reservations, the Red Devils ended up humiliating the US in a 4–1 victory, with the only US goal scored via a penalty shot.

Charles De Ketelaere scored two of Belgium’s goals before half-time and Hans Vanaken extended the lead to 3-1 before Romelu Lukaku scored the side's fourth goal.

This is the first time since the 2021 European Championship that the Red Devils have reached the last eight of a major tournament. At the end of 2022, they failed to progress beyond the group stage in Qatar, while two years ago at the European Championship in Germany, they lost in the final 16 round.

Spain secured its spot in the quarter-final after defeating Portugal 1-0.