Best Bet for USA vs. Belgium
- USA To Advance: I like the United States to find a way past Belgium in the Round of 16. I haven’t been impressed with Belgium so far in this tournament. They’ve only won one of their four games inside 90 minutes, and that was against New Zealand. The other three games ended in a draw, and they needed a late miracle against Senegal to get it to extra time. The United States have been flying, and in three of the four games where they played their starters, they won each of those contests by two clear goals and none of those matches were ever in doubt.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup continues on Monday as the United States faces Belgium in the Round of 16. Below Ciaran Doyle will give his best bet for the match on DraftKings Sportsbook.
USA vs. Belgium Prediction, Pick
The United States is currently ranked 15th in the FIFA rankings, while Belgium sit at ninth in the world.
The United States have exceeded expectations so far in this World Cup, and I think they will make it one step further. After this contest against Belgium, things will get much more difficult, but I think they should have enough here. Let’s take the Turkey game and put it on the side because the U.S. had the group secured and rested nine starters. In the other three matches, they’ve won by a combined score of 8-1. Granted, Belgium should be better than Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia, but that’s still dominance against any three opponents in a World Cup. Mauricio Pochettino has this team bought in, and they play like a well-oiled machine. The big concern was the absence of Folarin Balogun, who was set to miss this game with a suspension after his red card against Bosnia. However, the red card has been suspended by FIFA, and Balogun is now eligible to play in this match.
Belgium have not looked like their usual selves at this tournament so far. They had a great last five minutes against Senegal to get two goals and get that game to extra time, but for the majority of that match they looked average. Their two best players on paper, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, were substituted just after halftime. In the group stage they weren’t much better, drawing to Egypt and Iran before beating New Zealand in the final game to qualify and somehow win the group. This is an aging Belgium team all over the field, and the fresh legs of a younger and more athletic United States team will cause them issues, similar to what Senegal did for the majority of the game.
The United States might not make it much further than this in the World Cup, but I think a quarter-final appearance is in store. Belgium might be better in terms of ranking because of what they’ve done in the past, but the eye test in this tournament tells a different story. The home crowd advantage will certainly help push these players over the line and find a way to advance to the next round.
Best Bet: USA To Advance (-120)
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