Belgium’s 33-year-old Romelu Lukaku has done what no player in the 96-year history of the World Cup has ever done: scored as a substitute in four separate tournament matches.
A driving fourth goal from Romelu sealed a 4-1 demolition of co-hosts USA, sending Belgium into the quarterfinals and sending the American dream run to an abrupt halt in the Round of 16 — the sixth time in seven World Cup appearances the USA has bowed out at this exact stage.
Charles De Ketelaere scored twice either side of a brief Malik Tillman equaliser, and Hans Vanaken added a stunning long-range effort after a USA goalkeeping mistake, before Romelu arrived to add the finishing touch — just as he has all tournament long.
Romelu first scored off the bench at a World Cup back in 2014, fittingly also against the United States, netting the winner in a 2-1 extra-time victory in the Round of 16. Twelve years and one dramatic career arc later, he’s done it three more times in a single tournament: once against Egypt in the group stage, and twice more in the run to the quarterfinals.
It’s a pattern that has become Belgium’s blueprint at this World Cup. Manager Rudi Garcia has increasingly used Romelu as an impact substitute rather than a starter, banking on fresher legs and a striker’s instinct for the kill in the final third of matches and it has paid off spectacularly. Belgium has now scored five goals from substitutes at this tournament, more than any other nation.
The strike also pushed Romelu’s career World Cup goal tally to eight, extending his own record as Belgium’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament. On the international stage more broadly, he now sits on 93 goals for Belgium — third among all active men’s players in the world, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo (146) and Lionel Messi (124).
Belgium will now turn its attention to a quarterfinal date with Spain, a heavyweight clash that sets up a fascinating tactical puzzle: can Spain’s possession game control a Belgian side that has made a weapon out of unleashing Romelu when opponents are running on empty?
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