USA vs. Belgium World Cup prediction: Odds, picks, best bet as United States tries to punch ticket to quarterfinals

The United States didn’t have its ‘A game’ against Bosnia & Herzegovina, but it was still enough for the Yanks to earn a 2-0 victory, securing a spot in the Round of 16 and setting up a date with Belgium in Seattle on Monday night.It was the first time in 24 years that the USMNT won a knockout match at the World Cup.And while there were certainly some pain points in the 2-0 win over Bosnia, the mark of a contender at these international tournaments is that you can win when you’re not at your best.

The Americans ticked that box, albeit against a relatively soft opponent.Belgium will represent a clear step up from what the Stars & Stripes faced against Bosnia & Herzegovina, but the Red Devils have not covered themselves in glory during their run to the Round of 16.The Belgians were fortunate to get a point in a 1-1 draw against Egypt, even luckier in a nil-nil against Iran, and then finally put the boots to New Zealand, 5-1, to clinch the top spot in Group G.Instead of building off that momentum in the Round of 32 against Senegal, the Belgians looked completely out of sorts for 85 minutes and were down 2-0 with four minutes of normal time to go.They looked cooked.Miraculously, Belgium scored twice in three minutes to send the match into extra time, where they were given another gift from the soccer gods when Lamine Camara took down Belgian captain Youri Tielemans inside the box with seconds to go before the game went to a shootout.

Tielemans converted the penalty kick, sending the Red Devils to the next round and Senegal on a plane home.The box score tells the story for this one.The Lions of Teranga created 3.41 expected goals (xG) from open play, while Belgium tallied just 0.72.

If you replay this match over 100 times, Senegal probably wins 90.If Senegal and Egypt can put Belgium on their heels, you have to like Team USA’s chances of going one step further, especially now that Folarin Balogun’s suspension has been lifted.Balogun’s presen...