USA’s Folarin Balogun Avoids Multi-Game Suspension; Won’t Play vs. Belgium

U.S. men’s national team star striker Folarin Balogun has avoided a multi-game suspension for his red card in the win over Bosnia and Herzegovina but will sit out the World Cup round of 16 game vs. Belgium, a U.S. Soccer spokesperson confirmed. Balogun, who scored in Wednesday’s 2-0 win, was sent off in the 64th minute of the second half by referee Rafael Claus after stepping on Bosnia and Herzegovina player Tarik Muharemović’s ankle. A player who receives a red card is automatically dismissed for the rest of that match and must sit out the subsequent match. That means the U.S. will be without its leading goalscorer at the tournament (three goals in four games) for a crucial match on Monday against Belgium in Seattle with a quarterfinals spot on the line. Balogun is the first player to score a goal and register a red card in a World Cup knockout match since France legend Zinedine Zidane against Italy in the 2006 final. When Can Balogun Return? Should the U.S. beat Belgium and reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, then Balogun will be able to re-join the squad. The USMNT will need him should it reach that stage as it will play the winner of the round of 16 game between Spain and Portugal — two of the tournament’s favorites to win it all. That quarterfinal game will be on Saturday, July 11 in Los Angeles. Was There An Appeal Process for Balogun’s Red Card? The U.S. had no path to appeal Balogun’s standard one-match suspension, as confirmed by FOX Sports rules analyst Mark Clattenburg. Had FIFA decided that Balogun would be suspended for more than one game, then the U.S. could have appealed that decision. Who Could Replace Balogun In USA’s Lineup? U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino has two other striker options in his squad: Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright. Expect either player to get the start with Balogun on the bench. Pepi, part of his first World Cup squad, has six goals for the U.S. in 17 career games. He scored 19 goals for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven this season, helping the team win its league title. Wright was part of the 2022 World Cup squad under former U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter, scoring one goal at that tournament. He’s been a profile scorer for English club Coventry City (49 goals across all competitions in three seasons) and helped the team reach the Premier League for the upcoming season. Pochettino could also go with a dual striker setup with both Pepi and Wright up top. The other option could be a formation change where star forward Christian Pulisic plays more in a ‘false No. 9’ position where he’ll be even more involved in the attack.