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Iran's national football team took a dig at the United States following Belgium's thumping 4-1 victory over the hosts in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16, sharing an Instagram Story after the match on Tuesday (IST).
The official account of the Iran national football team shared a screenshot showing Belgium's 4-1 victory over the United States alongside Belgium's goalless group-stage draw against Iran, accompanied by the caption, "Dance with me!". The post quickly drew attention on social media, with many interpreting it as a playful jab at the United States following its elimination from the tournament. Earlier, Belgian Red Devils shared an Instagram Story with the caption, "Overturn this," appearing to mock the hosts after securing a convincing victory to book their place in the quarter-finals. The team also took to X with another playful jab at the long-running "football" versus "soccer" debate in the United States. "It"s called soccer FOOTBALL," the Belgian Red Devils wrote. FIFA had earlier dismissed Belgium's challenge over the eligibility of Folarin Balogun after world football's governing body suspended the United States forward's one-match ban ahead of the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash between the two sides. Balogun was shown a red card in the 64th minute of the United States' 2-0 Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Coming to the match, Belgium stormed into the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a commanding 4-1 victory over the hosts, the United States, at Seattle Stadium. Charles De Ketelaere starred with a brace to earn the Player of the Match award, while Hans Vanaken scored his first-ever FIFA World Cup goal and substitute Romelu Lukaku added a stoppage-time strike, marking his third consecutive World Cup match with a goal. Belgium dominated much of the contest despite the USA briefly equalising through Malik Tillman's deflected free-kick. A costly goalkeeping error by Matt Freese allowed Belgium to extend their lead before Lukaku sealed the emphatic win late on. The defeat ended the United States' campaign, making them the last of the three co-host nations to exit the tournament after Canada and Mexico. Belgium will next face Spain in the quarter-finals on July 10 after the Spanish side knocked out Portugal in the Round of 16. (ANI)
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