Despite leaving good feelings during the tournament, the United States team was defeated 4-1 by Belgium, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup and will face Spain on July 10.
The European team imposed its power and showed its best version throughout the World Cup. With goals from Romelu Lukaku, Hans Vanaken and Charles De Ketelaere, the team led by Rudi García It dispelled all the American team’s hopes of advancing in the competition.
In fact, one aspect that has drawn attention is the performance of De Ketelaere, author of a double that propelled Belgium to dominate the match.
In the ninth minute, the 25-year-old scored the first goal of the match and, in the 33rd minute, he scored the second. For his performance on the field of play, The Belgian was recognized as the most valuable player of the match.
A priori, it could be thought that the player has dedicated most of his life to this sport; However, the opposite occurs: De Ketelaere has also been involved in other disciplines and even dedicates time to his university education.
According to Infobaeits sporting history began with tennis in Jabbeke, a municipality near Bruges. At 10 years old, the current Belgian striker was youth champion in his category and, although He also played soccer, tennis was his priority at that stage of his life.
However, tennis began to take its toll on him emotionally, since, according to the media, De Ketelaere considered that sport is “more confrontational” in defeat and that what he admired about football was the camaraderie of the teams, both in victories and defeats.
“Tennis is much more confrontational when you lose. “In football it’s easier to find excuses when things go wrong, but in tennis it’s just you,” the player said.
The Belgian abandoned tennis and focused his efforts on soccer. From the age of five he played in a local club called KFC Varsenare and, at the age of seven, He entered the Club Brugge youth academy.
At the age of 16 he was already playing in the under-17 team and, six months later, he was training with the under-21 team. Finally, De Ketelaere He made his professional debut in the Belgian Cup against Francs Borains.
Even the Belgian player He appeared in Club Brugge’s starting lineup in the UEFA Champions League when the team faced Paris Saint-Germain.
During his training at Club Brugge, the player also developed in the academic field, as he was studying Law at the University of Ghent. However, he had to pause his studies when his career Football began to gain greater prominence, with offers from Italian clubs such as AC Milan and Atalanta.
In 2022 he arrived at AC Milan and, in 2023, he was loaned to Atalanta.