United States crashed out of their home World Cup in the last 16 as Folarin Balogun proved a peripheral figure in a comfortable 4-1 Belgium win in Seattle.
Balogun, controversially sent off in the USA’s win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32, was cleared to play against Belgium, with FIFA suspending his automatic one-game ban by a year.
US president Donald Trump confirmed reports he had called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request for the incident to be reviewed. Infantino insisted the decision was made autonomously by the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
The decision has prompted a furious response from the wider football world and raised questions about political interference. The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished” by the ruling, which it unsuccessfully appealed.
Despite coach Rudi Garcia leaving Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku on the bench, Belgium played like a team motivated by a sense of injustice, with USA talisman Balogun powerless as Rudi Garcia’s side dominated matters, taking the lead in the ninth minute with the first of two goals from Charles De Ketelaere.
Malik Tillman levelled with the USA’s first shot on goal in the 31st minute, only for De Ketelaare to head Belgium back into the lead two minutes later.
And there was no way back for Mauricio Pochettino’s men after a dreadful error from goalkeeper Matt Freese allowed Hans Vanaken to give Belgium a two-goal cushion, which was stretched to three late on when Romelu Lukaku pounced on another defensive mishap, ensuring his team progressed to a last-eight tie with Spain in emphatic fashion.
Having missed the chance to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002, the focus for the USA — away from the drama surrounding Balogun — will switch to the future of Pochettino. Consistently linked with a return to the club football, there’s a distinct possibility a game to forget for the host nation may have been his last as their coach.
Belgium sail into Spain quarter-final
Timothy Castagne drew a fine save from Freese with a long-range curling effort in an early warning to the USA, one which they did not heed.
Belgium were soon rewarded for their early pressure as they made the most of the USA’s failure to clear their lines.
Nicolas Raskin played a low ball across the box to give De Ketelaere a tap-in from point-blank range.
Belgium suffered an injury setback as Amadou Onana, who was later seen on crutches, was forced off and replaced by Vanaken.
Vanaken was the unfortunate party as Tillman’s free-kick deflected off his head and beyond the helpless Thibaut Courtois to level matters against the run of play.
But parity was short-lived, De Ketelaere heading home his second from an excellent left-wing cross from Leandro Trossard to restore Belgium’s lead, which should have been doubled when Dodi Lukebakio headed wide with the goal at his mercy from Maxim De Cuyper’s free-kick delivery.
The USA improved after the half-time interval, but the home crowd was silenced three minutes before the hour mark as Freese was caught in possession outside of his area by De Ketelaere, with Vanaken pouncing as his long-range effort had the precision to find the empty net.
A late USA flurry saw Sebastian Berhalter go close before Balogun was denied at the near post by Courtois.
But in reality Belgium had little difficulty in seeing out a fully deserved victory, with gloss to the scoreline added as Lukaku powered into the bottom-right corner after Chris Richards had lost possession in his own area.
For the USA, it marked a desperately disappointing end to a tumultuous day. The fallout from the Balogun saga will rumble on, but a USA journey at this World Cup that at one stage promised even greater things will not.
