For a while, it seemed the only story in the lead-up to the US men’s national team last-16 matchup against Belgium was the presence of Folarin Balogun. In the end, Balogun’s presence did not really matter. Not on the field, at least.
The forward was serviceable in the USMNT’s 4-1 loss, and even earned the foul that led to the Americans’ lone goal, a deflected free-kick off the foot of midfielder Malik Tillman. But he was far from the dynamo he had been in the US’s other World Cup matches. But Balogun alone would never have saved a US team who were comprehensively dismantled by a technical Belgian side.
The fact that Balogun did not appear on the scoresheet was probably good news to a certain subset of fans and pundits – and certainly to Belgium’s coaches and players, all of whom have claimed that the Monaco forward shouldn’t have been involved in the match in the first place. Balogun was slated to serve a red-card suspension in Monday’s match but ended up in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI instead, after the US Soccer Federation – along with Donald Trump’s administration – – pushed for and received a stay of that punishment.
That perceived politicking turned what should’ve been a celebratory affair, a chance for the US to declare themselves among the world’s best teams at a home World Cup, into a circus, one that put America as a whole under the microscope. The US had bigger problems Monday, but one wonders how much the intensity of the discourse surrounding Balogun contributed to the US’s dreadful performance.
In his post-match press conference, Pochettino was insistent that the situation had nothing to do with the US’s loss. He also expressed disappointment with those who had suggested the federation had overstepped in their efforts to keep Balogun on the field.
“I am so frustrated and disappointed with the people that are supposed to understand the situation,” the coach said. “What is the point of insulting or receiving a lot of bad messages and threats if my position is that I am the head coach? It’s a rule that it’s possible to apply and try, that the players that can be available. My position was to train the team. If you have Balogun available because the disciplinary committee of Fifa allowed for you to have the player, it’s not a problem. I feel so disappointed with too many people. They mix things, they put politics and manipulation and talk about ethics and integrity.”
One does feel for Balogun, who has been thrust into a situation he had little to do with. He was quick to accept the suspension – while also saying he disagreed with it – and spoke calmly and gracefully about it when asked. On Monday, the striker offered his first remarks since his reinstatement.
“I accepted the decision when I was given the red card, and then I also accepted the decision when I was told I could play,” he said. “There’s not too much else I can really say on the matter. I think all that being said, Belgium were a better team today. They played much better than us, I feel. Today, we didn’t have a good game. For me personally, as I said, I accepted the decision.”
Balogun earned a red card for inadvertently stomping on the foot of an opponent in the US’s last-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Members of the Trump administration almost immediately began the process of getting the suspension overturned, according to multiple reports, with Trump himself being made aware of the red card not long after the match ended.
The White House reportedly made its lawyers available to the US Soccer Federation, which by then had begun its own push to the sport’s governing body. Trump phoned the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, several times. “I was the one who asked them to [review the suspension],” Trump told reporters on Monday. Fifa eventually overturned Balogun’s suspension, citing Article 27 of its bylaws.
The news of his reinstatement for the Belgium match was a shock, in the US and around the world. Fifa has a hard-earned reputation for outdoing itself in these situations, but even by its warped standards, few people expected the news. Unquestionably, most US fans were elated. So was Pochettino.
Belgium’s head coach, Rudi Garcia, was not. He raged against Balogun’s inclusion on Monday but on Tuesday said he had not used the perceived slight as bulletin-board material. The only inspiration Belgium needed, he said, came from their 5-2 drubbing of the US in a friendly in March. “With him [Balogun] on the field,” Garcia said on Monday.
“He came to talk to me [after the last-16 match],” Garcia said of Balogun via an interpreter. “I told him – it is not his fault, he’s not the one to blame. I really appreciate the intention … I appreciate this player.”
The Belgium attacker Charles De Ketelaere, the difference-maker on Monday, said: “I didn’t think it gave us a lot more motivation. Because a game like this already has the motivation, [which comes] from within. We spoke about it as a team [for] five minutes; it was not more than that, because we beat them in March, in a friendly also with him [involved]. He’s for sure a very good player, and he improves their team, but I don’t think we were scared of him as an individual.”
Some Belgium players – and the team’s social media channels – were more willing to frame the controversy as fuel. The midfielder Nicolas Raskin said: “I think there was always a justice somewhere in life and the fact that something can happen like that, you can put it all you want, but we don’t think that was fair. And today, I think it just brings us a little bit of luck. We needed to win the game and that was the message throughout.”
Several US players also weighed in after their loss. Though Pochettino was in the know as the federation worked to make Balogun available, the players were not, only learning about the news on Sunday afternoon, ahead of their training session.
“No, it had no impact,” the captain, Tim Ream, said. “We’ve done a good job with this group of allowing outside noise to be outside noise, you know. It’s got nothing to do with us as players, and [with] getting ready for games. It’s one of those things that’s the world we live in. We were fully focused on us as a group and as a team, and fully focused on the game, and not really worried about what was being said or debated in the outside world.”
For Ream and others, Monday is likely the last time they will be asked about this issue. Balogun, though, will probably be attached to it for much longer, perhaps undeservedly. After a bitter, heartbreaking loss, he seemed aware of it.
“The feeling of disappointment is very difficult to put into words,” he said. “Personally, the situation I’ve been involved in is also going to present different challenges. So it’s just important, for me, to be able to gather my thoughts and then at the right time, I’m sure I’ll be able to speak on the topic.”
