Belgium are through to the quarter-finals after a 4-1 defeat of the United States in Seattle, but the match was overshadowed by a row over FIFA’s extraordinary decision to lift Folarin Balogun’s suspension.
The Red Devils were too strong for the co-hosts in their last-16 tie, yet much of the attention before kick-off centred on the administrative battle over whether the U.S. forward should have been allowed to play.
Midfielder Nicolas Raskin said the squad had been unsettled by the wider drama, though he made clear the players channelled that frustration into their performance.
“A lot has happened off the pitch over the last two days,” he said. “There was a sense of injustice within the squad, and we were determined to respond on the field.”
Captain Youri Tielemans said Belgium had agreed before the match that their answer had to come in the game itself.
“We told ourselves we had to respond on the pitch. That’s what we did,” he said.
The flashpoint was the availability of USA forward Folarin Balogun. He had looked certain to miss the match after receiving a straight red card for a challenge on Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic in the previous round.
But on the Sunday ahead of the tie, Fifa put his automatic one-game suspension on hold for 12 months. The ruling drew fierce criticism, with Uefa, Belgium and England manager Thomas Tuchel all voicing concerns.
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was ‘astonished’ by the move and informed the United States Soccer Federation that it ‘contests the eligibility’ of Balogun taking part.
Belgium then appealed, only for a Fifa committee to decide the RBFA was not an interested party because it had no role in the initial red-card process and was simply the USA’s next opponent.
That left Belgium to vent their frustration in more public fashion. After the fourth Belgian goal, several players were seen on the field mimicking the so-called ‘Trump dance’ — the hip-swaying, arm-pumping celebration that became widely associated with the 2024 US presidential campaign.
Belgium’s official Instagram account then added to the post-match reaction by sharing an image of Romelu Lukaku with his hand to his ear alongside the caption: ‘overturn this’.
Head coach Rudi Garcia revealed Balogun had spoken to him after the game and said he appreciated the gesture.
“I really liked that. It’s not his fault, he’s not the one to blame and that’s what I told him.”
When asked whether the controversy had influenced Belgium’s display, Garcia pointed back to his side’s own focus.
“Regardless of the US starting line-up, what really mattered to us is our game plan,” he said.
“The group is very mature. I told them what matters the most is us.”
Tuchel, meanwhile, warned that the decision could create uncertainty for the rest of the competition.
“Where to draw the line is the question that I ask,” he said. “I have no answer to that.”
Trump’s intervention only intensified the scrutiny. The US president said he had asked FIFA to review the red card, but insisted the governing body made the final call. FIFA later said its disciplinary committee had acted independently and imposed a fine, while suspending Balogun’s one-match ban for a probationary period of one year.
The rarity of Fifa’s intervention only added to the scrutiny. Of the other 189 red cards shown at this World Cup, only one player had previously avoided an automatic suspension: Brazil’s Garrincha in 1962, before the current automatic-ban system was in place.
Fifa has been approached for comment.
Round of 16 – Match 94: USA vs Belgium, 1-4
Round of 16 – Match 93: Portugal vs Spain, 0-1
Round of 16 – Match 92: Mexico vs England, 2-3
Round of 16 – Match 91: Brazil vs Norway, 1-2
Round of 16 – Match 90: Canada vs Morocco, 0-3
Round of 16 – Match 89: Paraguay vs France, 0-1
Round of 32 – Match 88: Australia vs Egypt, 1-1 (2-4 on penalties)
Round of 32 – Match 87: Colombia vs Ghana, 1-0
Round of 32 – Match 86: Argentina vs Cabo Verde, 3-2
Round of 32 – Match 85: Switzerland vs Algeria, 2-0
Round of 32 – Match 84: Spain vs Austria, 3-0
Round of 32 – Match 83: Portugal vs Croatia, 2-1
Round of 32 – Match 82: Belgium vs Senegal, 3-2
Round of 32 – Match 81: USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2-0
Round of 32 – Match 80: England vs DR Congo, 2-1
Round of 32 – Match 79: Ivory Coast vs Norway, 2-1
Round of 32 – Match 78: Mexico vs Ecuador, 2-0
Round of 32 – Match 77: France vs Sweden, 3-0
Round of 32 – Match 76: Brazil vs Japan, 2-1
Round of 32 – Match 75: Netherlands vs Morocco, 1-1 (3-2)
Round of 32 – Match 74: Germany vs Paraguay, 1-1 (4-3)
Round of 32 – Match 73: South Africa vs Canada, 1-0
Group L: Panama vs England, 2-0
Group L: Croatia vs Ghana, 2-1
Group K: Colombia vs Portugal, 0-0
Group K: DR Congo vs Uzbekistan, 3-1
Group J: Algeria vs Austria, 3-3
Group J: Jordan vs Argentina, 3-1