The ownership of Folarin Balogun, after a suspended red card, cannot influence the United States, which succumbs to a superior Belgium.
Posted on July 7, 2026
Belgium eliminated the United States from its own World Cup on Monday, when Charles De Ketelaere’s brace secured a 4-1 victory that was overshadowed by the bitter dispute over Folarin Balogun’s suspension.
The victory means the Belgians face Spain in the quarter-finals, while the United States follow the other World Cup co-hosts, Canada and Mexico, out of the tournament with elimination in the round of 16 after a completely flat performance.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
All attention before the match had been focused on Balogun’s place in the United States starting lineup, after US President Donald Trump asked FIFA to review the striker’s one-match suspension for a red card, and the governing body controversially agreed.
Belgium’s starting lineup had some surprises of its own, with Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku among the heavyweights benched. But coach Rudi Garcia’s tactics proved inspired, with De Ketelaere scoring an early goal to end the good vibes in Seattle.
Malik Tillman scored a goal on a free kick, but De Ketelaere quickly restored Belgium’s lead. A catastrophic play by goalkeeper Matt Freese and a late goal by Romelu Lukaku left the Americans dead and buried.
FIFA’s decision to suspend Balogun’s ban after he was sent off in the previous round against Bosnia and Herzegovina has been criticized by football fans, pundits and players around the world, but there were no such misgivings among the Seattle public.
A colossal roar greeted the stadium announcement of Balogun’s name in the starting lineup, vastly overshadowing the cheers even for American talisman Christian Pulisic.
The thunder of “USA” then echoed throughout the stadium, completely drowning out a small corner of the screaming Belgian fans in the opening minutes.
But the American party was quickly silenced. The majority of the 67,000 fans fell silent in the ninth minute when De Ketelaere scored, scoring easily from close range after Nicolas Raskin’s cross evaded some lax defending.
It was the first time the Americans had conceded the first goal in the entire tournament. With the atmosphere deflated, no immediate reaction was seen on the field either. The midfield was outgunned and the defense looked nervous.
After half an hour, Balogun committed a foul on the edge of the area and brought the crowd back to life. He waved his arms frantically as Tillman, fresh from scoring a free kick against Bosnia, lined up the ball.
Tillman’s shot deflected off the Belgian barrier and into the net, and the stadium shook.
But the joy was short-lived again. In the 33rd minute, De Ketelaere leapt to meet Leandro Trossard’s cross and comfortably beat an off-balance Tim Ream to score his second.
The United States got back into the game as the first half ended, with Balogun firing over a long shot from Tillman, and then narrowly failing to catch a long ball, again from the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder.
American coach Mauricio Pochettino changed the formation at half-time, sending Gio Reyna to the number 10 spot and pushing Weston McKennie to the right. The Americans resumed play with more intensity, pushing further up the field.
But in the 57th minute a self-inflicted disaster struck. Freese came out to collect a long ball from Belgium, turned to avoid De Ketelaere’s charge, but then hesitated with his pass.
De Ketelaere passed the ball to Hans Vanaken, who made no mistake with an open shot from long range.
Pulisic limped off due to an injury minutes later, and with him went the United States’ dreams of reaching the quarterfinals of a World Cup for the first time since 2002.
His substitute, Sebastian Berhalter, fired an ambitious shot that went just wide in the 79th minute, and Balogun had a shot from close range soon after.
But Chris Richards handed the ball to Lukaku in injury time, and the veteran striker did not hesitate to seal the win.