Belgium beat USA 4-1 to eliminate them from World Cup in Balogun controversy

Two senior USA team officials were suspended by FIFA before the hosts’ last-16 defeat to Belgium (Picture: Getty Images) Two senior figures from the USA’s World Cup set-up were very quietly suspended by FIFA not long before the team’s last 16 defeat to Belgium, it’s emerged. The governing body published the suspensions on its website ahead of the match but offered no public explanation for the decision. Team manager Sam Zapatka and security vice president Frank Pannell were both barred from carrying out their duties during Monday night’s game in Seattle. The pair were absent as the USA’s World Cup campaign came to an emphatic end with a 4-1 defeat. Don't miss a World Cup moment Bellingham has stood tall for Thomas Tuchel (Picture: FIFA via Getty) England need three more wins, how are your nerves? Make sense of the drama with Metro's free daily newsletter, featuring England updates, match previews and exclusive analysis. Sign up now. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino was without two members of his backroom team (Picture: Getty Images) It’s understood the suspensions weren’t linked in any way to the controversy surrounding Folarin Balogun’s eligibility, according to Daily Mail. Instead, the incident that prompted FIFA’s action is believed to have taken place during the previous round against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Neither Zapatka nor Pannell was able to perform their usual roles against Belgium as a result. Exactly what happened remains unclear. The latest twist adds another layer of off-field drama to a tournament that has already produced more than its fair share for the host nation. Most of the attention until now had centred on Balogun. Folarin Balogun saw his one-game ban controversially lifted (Picture: Getty Images) The Monaco striker was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, automatically triggering a one-match suspension. That should have ruled him out of the Belgium game. Instead, Donald Trump personally lobbied FIFA president Gianni Infantino to reconsider the punishment. Soon afterwards, FIFA announced that Balogun’s ban had been suspended. The decision infuriated Belgium, who launched an appeal in a bid to keep Balogun out of the game. That challenge went nowhere, leaving the striker free to play. Belgium’s appeal against FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play was unsuccessful but they still romped to victory anyway (Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images) In truth, it didn’t make much difference. Belgium were simply too strong on the night. In fact, many football pundits have suggested that the scandal may well have had a negative effect on USMNT’s performance. Atalanta forward Charles De Ketelaere scored twice, with Malik Tillman briefly giving the USA hope from a free-kick between his goals. The Americans were then left with a mountain to climb when goalkeeper Matt Freese’s error gifted Hans Vanaken Belgium’s third. Romelu Lukaku rubbed salt into American wounds by adding a fourth in stoppage time, sealing a comprehensive 4-1 victory and bringing the USA’s World Cup adventure to an abrupt end. The last-16 tie attracted the biggest TV audience ever recorded for a US football broadcast (Picture: Adam Gray/Getty Images) There was at least one record broken on the night, although it wasn’t the one the hosts would have cared all that much about. TV network Fox said the match attracted the biggest audience ever recorded for a US football broadcast, peaking at almost 37 million viewers. Unfortunately for American fans, that peak arrived at almost exactly the same moment Freese’s blunder handed Belgium their third goal. Millions of people picked a spectacularly unfortunate moment to tune in. Still, that’s football. Sorry, ‘soccer’. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

Belgium eliminated the U.S. from the World Cup on Monday with a dominating 4-1 victory. The U.S. loss followed days of controversy regarding U.S. star Folarin Balogun's red card suspension and FIFA's decision to lift the one-game ban. Nicole Valdes reports.

 The US are out of the 2026 World Cup after getting trounced 4-1 by Belgium in their round 16 clash on Tuesday.   The co-hosts were swept aside by Charles De Ketelaere’s brace and goals from Hans Vaneken and Romelu Lukaku, despite the controversial presence of Folarin Balogun in the US team’s starting line-up.   Malik Tillman pulled one back for the Americans, but the gulf in quality between the two sides was so apparent despite the home crowd support at Seattle Stadium.   Balogun, who scored three goals for the US at the World Cup, and the saga surrounding a one-match ban were the focal points of global discussions ahead of the game. The 25-year-old striker had received a red card in the US previous game and was supposed to be out of the Belgium match. But US President Donald Trump asked FIFA to review Balogun’s ban, and the football governing body controversially gave the American a reprieve.  The decision sparked global backlash against FIFA, with UEFA describing it as “unjustifiable” and the Belgian FA vowing to challenge the ruling. US fans share none of the global outrage, cheering loudly when Balogun’s name was announced in the starting lineup. But their excitement was quelled as early as the ninth minute when De Ketelaere tapped the ball home from close range after Nicolas Raskin’s cross.   The US felt they were back into the game in the 31st minute after Balogun was fouled at the edge of the box and Tillman stepped up to bury the resultant free-kick.     Two minutes later, Belgium were back in the lead again. De Ketelaere scored his second of the match, meeting Leandro Trossard’s cross and comfortably out-jumping an off-balance Tim Ream.   Then Vanaken and Lukaku each added a goal, sending Belgium into the quarter-final tie against Spain on July 10.

The United States’ World Cup dreams came to a crashing halt in the last 16 against Belgium on Monday as Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in a 4-1 win overshadowed by FIFA’s controversial decision to suspend U.S. forward Folarin Balogun’s ban. De Ketelaere gave Belgium the lead in the ninth minute with a simple tap-in, […]

US captain Tim Ream reacts after Belgium's Romelu Lukaku celebrates his team's fourth goal in Seattle. Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters The United States' World Cup dreams have come to a crashing halt in the last 16 against Belgium as Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in a 4-1 win overshadowed by FIFA's controversial decision to suspend US forward Folarin Balogun's ban.

The United States' World Cup dreams came to a crashing halt in the last 16 against Belgium on Monday as Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in a 4-1 win overshadowed by FIFA's controversial decision to suspend US forward Folarin Balogun's ban.