U.S. men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun revealed the suspension of his red card ban caused “a lot of outside noise” that stirred up “a bit of nerves” among his teammates ahead of the Stars and Stripes’ clash with Belgium.
Balogun, who was harshly sent off for catching Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemović on the Achilles in the round of 32, was originally suspended for the round of 16, leaving Mauricio Pochettino without his best goalscorer. Then, a whirlwind 24 hours saw FIFA controversially suspend the forward’s ban after intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Suddenly, Balogun was allowed to play against the Red Devils, but his inclusion did little to help the USMNT. Belgium embarrassed the host nation, securing a 4–1 win on American soil. There’s plenty of blame to go around for the poor performance, but Balogun couldn’t help but point some fingers at the added scrutiny from FIFA’s decision.
“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team, but when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy,” Balogun told CBS Mornings. “And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves. Because it is something that is so unique.
“The closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult. A lot of outside noise and that’s hard to avoid.”
How the Red Card Saga Impacted the USMNT’s Preparations
Beyond the noise and added attention the USMNT dealt with after FIFA’s unprecedented decision, the team also had to completely change its game plan for the round of 16. Pochettino was preparing his men to play without Balogun and then suddenly had 24 hours to revamp his tactics for the biggest game of his tenure.
“It was confusing because the team is practicing without me being in the team,” Balogun said. “I’m almost just playing a supporting role to try and keep the morale high and then think it was a day or two days before kickoff I get told I am back in the team. We found out on the team bus, everybody was screaming and shouting. It was a pretty intense bus ride to the practice field.”
Getting Balogun back into the XI should not have wildly disrupted the Stars and Stripes considering the striker started three of their four previous games on the world stage, but they still had to pivot last-minute amid a media circus.
The circumstances were less than ideal, but Balogun made sure to emphasize that the USMNT had “full concentration” going into the game against Belgium.
Excuses Overshadow the USMNT’s Real Problems
Even after the USMNT got demolished by the Red Devils, so much of the conversation was still about Balogun’s suspended red card. Even the striker himself is feeding into the narrative, but he—and many others—are ignoring the reasons the team truly crashed out of the competition.
The Stars and Stripes benefited the entire tournament from the added exposure that comes with being a host nation and playing in front of home crowds. They had the backing of a sold-out Lumen Field in Seattle, and still they completely imploded.
Goalkeeper Matt Freese delivered a nightmare performance that gifted Belgium its third goal. Tim Ream and Chris Richards traded mistakes back and forth like they were playing for the other team. Christian Pulisic was a turnover machine and then came out of the game due to injury.
It was a comedy of errors from the USMNT—and most of the errors were entirely self-inflicted and avoidable. If that’s how the team’s most important players deal with the spotlight, then there are deeper problems than just a red card.
