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The United States Men’s National Team is coming off a big win Wednesday night over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but there is a big cloud hanging over them for their upcoming game against Belgium.
This is because the team will be without star striker Folarin Balogun after he was handed a hugely controversial red card in the second half of the match.
That, of course, means a suspension is coming, but the United States received good news on Friday when FIFA confirmed the suspension would be for just one match.
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While it was always highly unlikely that FIFA would be able to add additional games to Balogun’s suspension, they formally decided not to, and that is the best possible outcome for the United States in this scenario.
American forward Folarin Balogun’s controversial red card was one of the biggest moments in the team’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images))
There is no mechanism by which the United States can appeal this decision, so all it could do was hope that the suspension was limited to one match.
Balogun himself made his first comments on the incident on Friday, shortly after FIFA’s decision to uphold the one-match suspension was made public.
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“It’s important for me to say, first and foremost, that it was completely involuntary,” he said Friday. “The referee’s choice was his choice. I don’t think it was the right choice. I think a yellow card would have been fair, because it wasn’t intentional.”
“It’s something that happened; we have to move on and I have to accept it.”
Folarin Balogun of the United States celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D match against Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026. (John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)
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Balogun will surely be missed for Monday’s game against Belgium in Seattle, as he leads the team with three goals in this tournament.
But now, if the Americans manage to surprise the Belgians a bit, they will be relieved to know that he will be back in action in the quarterfinals.
