Shortly after the United States men’s national team crashed out of the FIFA World Cup via a 4-1 loss to Belgium in Monday’s round-of-16 matchup, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and others suggested that the much-discussed red-card situation involving United States forward Folarin Balogun “killed the vibe” for the Americans.
Following the defeat, United States manager Mauricio Pochettino and others addressed the Balogun-sized elephant that hovered over Monday’s game.
Folarin Balogun situation “not an excuse” for United States’ poor performance vs. Belgium
“It didn’t affect our performance,” Pochettino said about the Balogun situation, per Sam Borden of ESPN. “It’s not an excuse. I think we were not good enough. It wasn’t our day. We didn’t perform in the way that we’re supposed to perform or show our quality. All that was happening around [with the Balogun situation], it was around us, but I think it wasn’t a situation that affected us in the group.”
Balogun was made available to play against Belgium after he was shown a red card during the United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the tournament’s prior round. It was later learned that President Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for a review of the Balogun suspension related to the red card.
On Monday night, the Americans looked outmatched and overwhelmed throughout a loss many players will want to forget. The lowlight of the evening occurred when United States goalkeeper Matt Freese committed a terrible mistake that gifted Belgium with a third goal after defender Tim Ream was unable to make a clearance.