Folarin Balogun, the U.S. men's national team's leading goalscorer with three goals in four games, will miss the World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday, July 6, in Seattle due to a red card. Balogun received the red card in the 64th minute for stepping on Bosnia and Herzegovina player Tarik Muharemović's ankle during Wednesday's 2-0 victory. This automatic one-game suspension cannot be appealed by the U.S. Soccer Federation. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed disappointment, describing the incident as a "normal football movement" and not intentional foul play.
The U.S. team had no mechanism to appeal the standard one-match ban, as confirmed by FOX Sports rules analyst Mark Clattenburg and FIFA. Appeals are only possible if FIFA's Disciplinary Committee imposes a multi-game suspension, which was not the case here. This means Balogun, who also scored in the win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, will not be available for the crucial match, which will determine if the USMNT advances to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. Teammate Weston McKennie called the lack of an appeals process "bogus," drawing comparisons to similar unpunished incidents in the tournament, such as one involving Lionel Messi.
Should the U.S. defeat Belgium, Balogun would be eligible to rejoin the squad for the quarterfinals on Saturday, July 11. In the quarterfinals, the U.S. would face the winner of the Spain vs. Portugal match, both considered strong contenders. Balogun's absence leaves the U.S. with two other striker options, Haji Wright and another unnamed player. Balogun is notably the first player since Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final to both score a goal and receive a red card in a World Cup knockout match.
