Pyrotechnics Before Kick-Off. Cup Lifted at Full Time. Only One of Them Matters.
Anderlecht fans set off flares and smoke bombs before the game. Kick-off delayed by several minutes. The King Baudouin Stadium stank of smoke before a ball was kicked.
By the time the full-time whistle blew 120 minutes later, Union Saint-Gilloise had won the Belgian Cup for the fourth time in their history.
3-1 after extra time. Mac Allister. Cvetkovic. Fuseini. Rodriguez. First-ever all-Brussels final. One winner.
Union win the cup. Anderlecht go home empty-handed again.
Burgess Had It Ruled Out
16th minute. Corner for Union. Captain Christian Burgess got his head to it and directed it into the net. The ground exploded.
Offside. Flag up. VAR confirmed it. Ruled out.
Burgess had his hands on his head. Union had been the sharper side early. That disallowed goal changed the atmosphere. Anderlecht grew from it. The match opened up.
Mac Allister Made the Difference
75 minutes gone. Union still pressing. Still looking for the breakthrough.
Kevin Mac Allister got the ball in the box from an Anan Khalaili cross. Close range. Smashed it in. 1-0. The Union end went wild.
Mac Allister is the kind of player you build finals around. Worked tirelessly for 75 minutes before that moment. Stayed involved. Got his reward.
Then Anderlecht hit back almost immediately. Cvetkovic — who had been one of the better players on the pitch all night — got his head to a free kick and sent it into the net. 1-1. Belgian football tradition: every Cup final must go the hard way.
Extra time.
Two Substitutes. Two Goals. Done.
Fuseini came on as a substitute. Six minutes into extra time he scored. Union 2-1. The goal came from a quick move through the middle, Fuseini latching onto the end of it and finishing with composure. Not a fluke. A proper goal from a player who had come on with purpose.
Kevin Rodriguez added the third a few minutes later. A cut inside, a shot, 3-1. The cup was settled. Anderlecht had nothing left. Union were not letting go.
Belgium’s Nathan De Cat went off injured in extra time. A blow for him personally — his World Cup preparations now under serious question with the tournament a month away. He had played well while he lasted.
What This Means for Union
Fourth cup win in their history. First in 2024, second now in 2026. The previous ones came in 1913 and 1914.
A club that for most of their history sat in the Belgian lower leagues is now winning cups, playing in European competition, competing at the top of the table. The rise of Union Saint-Gilloise has been one of football’s genuine success stories over the last five years.
They lost just one of their last 19 games in all competitions going into this final. Anderlecht came in winless in their last four. The form said Union. The result agreed.
Mac Allister, Burgess, Schoofs, Zorgane, Khalaili — a team built with intelligence and run by coaches who know how to make it work. Scherpen was rarely troubled in goal until Cvetkovic’s header. The structure has been excellent all season.
Anderlecht’s Pain
Cup runners-up last season. Cup runners-up this season.
Coosemans had a decent game. Cvetkovic scored and worked hard. But the overall performance lacked the edge needed to beat a Union side in this kind of form.
Winless in four going in. Lost to Union 14 times in 20 head-to-head meetings between the clubs this season. The rivalry is one-sided right now. That will not always be the case. On Thursday it was.
For more Belgian football and Cup coverage visit <a href=”https://fawanews.org.uk” target=”_blank”>FawaNews football</a>. Full Croky Cup results and Belgian Pro League standings at the <a href=”https://www.rbfa.be” target=”_blank”>official Belgian Football Association website</a>.
Union Saint-Gilloise 3-1 Anderlecht (AET) Croky Cup Final | Thursday, 14 May 2026 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
Goals: Kevin Mac Allister 75′ | Mohammed Fuseini 96′ | Kevin Rodriguez 100′ (USG) | Mihajlo Cvetkovic 77′ (AND) Disallowed: Christian Burgess 16′ (offside)
Union XI: Scherpen | Khalaili, Burgess, Sykes | Smith, Schoofs, Zorgane, Mac Allister | Zeneli, Ait El Hadj | Biondic Subs: Fuseini (for Biondic), Rodriguez (for Zeneli), De Cat (off injured AET)
Anderlecht XI: Coosemans | Camara, Hey, Diarra, Maamar | Kana, Saliba | Cvetkovic, Nathan, Hazard | Stroeykens Subs: Various
HT: 0-0 | 90 mins: 1-1 | AET: 3-1 H2H this season: Union 15 wins, Anderlecht 3 wins, 3 draws
