The Stars and Stripes are set to take on Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday, in an evenly contested match-up where both nations will fancy their chances of securing a spot in the quarter-finals.

Mauricio Pochettino's side breezed past Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in their Round of 32 tie, despite star striker Folarin Balogun being dismissed in the 64th minute. However, the 25-year-old will be available for the game in Seattle, as FIFA controversially suspended the red-card ban, providing a massive boost to the hosts going forward.

The Belgians had a trickier Round of 32 fixture against Senegal in one of the games of the tournament so far. The Red Devils fought back from a two-goal deficit in the last five minutes of the 90 to take the match to extra time, where Youri Tielemans scored a penalty in the 125th minute to complete the comeback.

It was a performance that showed a fighting spirit from the Belgians that has been absent in recent major tournaments, and it has only added to the unpredictability of Monday's match. 

The two nations met 96-years-ago in the first-ever World Cup, where the USA came away 3-0 victors in Uruguay, but since then, the Stars and Stripes have been beaten by Belgium six times on the bounce, conceding an average of 2.5 goals per game.

The two sides' most recent fixture was played in March of this year, where the USA was comfortably beaten 5-2 in an international friendly. It is a result that may fuel the Belgians' confidence slightly, but should not be representative of what to expect on Monday.

The States will be hoping they can end the rut of poor results against Belgium, with a win in one of the nation's biggest games in recent history. USA will have the home-turf advantage, something they have made good use of so far this tournament, and will be hoping to get the victory within 90 minutes.

For Belgium, they are certainly the footballing nation with the superior footballing pedigree, with their best ever World Cup performance coming in 2018, where they came third place in Russia, during the peak of their 'golden generation'.

Both sides play on the front foot, but the US, in particular, focuses on a constant press that could cause serious problems for Belgium if they cannot deal with the Americans' energy. The game will be won in the middle of the park, with both nations fielding personnel in the midfield capable of dominating the game.

Balogun's suspension being overturned by FIFA is a huge decision that will likely affect how the game plays out. Pochettino now has his team's top scorer available, and it is likely that any of the States' best chances will go through him.

The decision was so important for the USA that Donald Trump praised FIFA personally on social media, "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice," Trump wrote on Truth Social, which only added fuel to the fire amongst football fans.

Other than Balogun, the USMNT go into Monday's game with a clean bill of health, and will likely deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation, and Pochettino's aggressive pressing style. It would be surprising to see any major changes made by the Argentine boss, and a completely unchanged starting 11 is certainly possible.

Rudi Garcia's Belgium side have shown glimpses of a team that can make a deep-run into this year's World Cup, but in some matches they have displayed multiple weak points that could be exploited by the hosts.

Romelu Lukaku has been the nation's main talisman for well over a decade, racking up 92 goals for his country, and leading Belgium's all-time top scorer charts by a whopping 54 goals. However, the 33-year-old is expected to start on the bench due to fitness problems, but will almost certainly make a cameo in the second half.

Other than Lukaku, Belgium have all its key players available for selection. Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku will be key for the Red Devils if they are looking to break down the US' backline and be their country's main attacking threat from the off.

No side can be labelled as a clear favourite going into Monday's fixture, which indicates a game which will be evenly-contested and hopefully an interesting spectacle for all football fans. 

The game has already garnered huge amounts of media attention due to the controversial red-card suspension by FIFA and the alleged external influence on the decision.

The hosts have the home advantage, but not the support of the majority of football fans around the globe, and it will be a mental battle for the States to overcome the backlash they are facing leading up to the game.

It is an extremely hard game to predict, and could potentially go the distance, due to both sides possessing threats going forward, but showing frailties in defence. However, the return of Balogun combined with the momentum the Stars and Stripes have should see them advance to the quarter-finals, but it won't be easy.

Final Score: USA 2 - 1  Belgium (AET)