When FIFA did the unexpected and suspended the red card of U.S. men’s national team star striker Folarin Balogun, it may have been the nail in the coffin.
Perhaps it’s long overdue that we reframe what we consider “unexpected” from soccer’s governing body. Nevertheless, the unprecedented decision to push Balogun’s one-game suspension, incurred in the round of 32, to the wayside for an entire year immediately evaporated the magic that had clouded the air for the American boys at the 2026 World Cup up until that moment.
