The U.S. faces Belgium in the World Cup on the heels of Trump-Infantino red card call

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Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics The U.S. faces Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16 The U.S. striker Folarin Balogun is expected to start against Belgium in a Round of 16 match after a surprise decision by FIFA to allow him to play despite receiving a red card last week. Special Series Soccer Edition Follow the World Cup in the NPR App Find Your Station Sign up for Up First for Soccer Edition on Tuesdays The 2026 FIFA World Cup is from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Sixteen host cities across North America, including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Kansas City, Miami, and New York/New Jersey in the United States. The NPR Network will have coverage from across the country leading up to and during the championship. The U.S. striker Folarin Balogun will be in the lineup in the World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday. A FIFA disciplinary committee suspended his one-game suspension following his controversial red card in the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif. Jamie Squire/Getty Images hide caption SEATTLE — When the U.S. men's national soccer team steps on the field Monday to face Belgium in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, it will do so with its star striker back in the lineup and a cloud of controversy hanging overhead. Soccer Edition Folarin Balogun's ban is lifted by FIFA, allowing U.S. striker to play Belgium Before the weekend, there were already plenty of questions about U.S. forward Folarin Balogun and the red card he received in last week's Round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina that should have sidelined him this game with an automatic suspension: Was his contact with the Bosnian defender's leg intentional? Had the video referee followed regulations when he scrutinized the play in slow motion? Should it have been escalated all the way to a red card when the referee on the field initially thought there was no foul at all? Why had Balogun been punished so severely when other seemingly similar plays in this World Cup had avoided punishment altogether? By the time the U.S. team had arrived in Seattle, Balogun and his teammates seemed to set those questions aside and accept their fate: The American men would prepare for their biggest game in a generation without their leading scorer. Then came Sunday's one-two punch of stunning and controversial developments. First, a FIFA disciplinary panel made the surprise announcement that Balogun's one-game suspension would be suspended for a year-long probationary period, allowing the striker to play against Belgium. "Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA," Trump said amid a three-minute stream of remarks about the red card decision, which he characterized as "very unfair." In a statement Monday, seven hours before kickoff, Infantino confirmed the call with Trump but rejected that it had influenced FIFA's decision-making. "During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA's independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies," he said. "That is how FIFA's system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold. On Sunday afternoon, when Belgian coach Rudi Garcia arrived at the Seattle stadium for a routine pregame press conference, he was in disbelief at the news. "I didn't know that, in the FIFA offices, July 5th was April Fool's Day," he said. The lack of transparency, followed so soon by reports of the Trump-Infantino call, led to an uproar in the world of football. "The Belgian federation isn't only defending itself or the national team — it is defending all of football, its integrity and its ethics," Garcia said. team was content to put its head down and accept the good news. "It was a fair decision because it was never a red card. It was a mistake," said U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino on Sunday. "Everyone has said it, 99.9% of people, that it was an unfair punishment." FIFA had already been criticized in this World Cup for delaying a suspension for Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, who received a red card during a qualifying match last November. The resulting three-game suspension could have sidelined Ronaldo for Portugal's first two World Cup games, but FIFA put the suspension on hold under the same regulation that allowed Balogun to play. Belgium is the toughest opponent the U.S. has faced so far at this World Cup. The Belgians entered the tournament ranked No. 9 by FIFA; the U.S. was No. 17. In March, the two teams met in an international friendly match in which the Americans took an early 1-0 lead, but shortly after, Belgium took control and won easily, 5-2. But that's OK, we learned from it," said U.S. defender Chris Richards on Sunday. "Ultimately, we're looking to the game tomorrow as a tough one, but also going into this game with confidence because of what we've done so far in the tournament." A win would send the U.S. through to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, which remains the deepest run by an American men's team in the modern era of the World Cup. There, the U.S. would face the winner of Monday's early match between European powerhouses Spain and Portugal. victory — especially one that hinges on Balogun's performance — would surely be dogged by criticism and questions about whether the result was fair, given FIFA's extraordinary intervention. After Norway advanced to the quarterfinal with a 2-1 win over Brazil on Sunday afternoon, coach Ståle Solbakken called the decision to allow Balogun to play "a big mistake by FIFA." "What about the next red card? What happens then? Is there going to be some committee somewhere that is going to take that card away?" he said. "It's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup." Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor