The United States’ dream of winning a World Cup came to an end in Seattle as they fell 4-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday night, ending their run amid poor play and a red-card controversy just 24 hours before the match.
The loss comes after the U.S. team’s star striker, Folarin Balogun, was deemed eligible to play in the match after his one-game suspension from a red card was put on hold by FIFA following a call by President Donald Trump.
FIFA said on Sunday that “the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.”
The Belgian Football Association (RBFA) released a statement Sunday that said in part that it was “astonished” by FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play in Monday’s match against them.
“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options,” the statement said.
“Today, we were not the same team in the tournament that showed our quality,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said after the loss.
Belgium came out strong and never looked back as crisp passing led to a goal just eight minutes into the match. Meanwhile, the Americans were outdone by a determined side, and its own mistakes.
Why did the U.S. come out flat?
“It’s a great question,” defender Tyler Adams said. “Wish I had the answer right now.”
Despite the disappointment, the U.S. team can be proud of how they brought the country together for a few weeks in a crazy political climate and usually divided country.
“I am so proud because in one year … this team show that we can play football, we can play soccer, we can compete,” Pochettino said, before adding, “that we need to keep improving.”
