Folarin Balogun red card deja vu inspired USMNT and now history beckons with star man cleared to return
Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina would have given US fans a familiar sinking feeling.
It was another major tournament game, and another dismissal.
At the Copa America in 2024, Tim Weah’s first-half red against Panama severely dented any hopes of advancing to the knockouts.
The USMNT went on to lose that game 2-1, and were later defeated by Uruguay to wrap up an embarrassing group exit that cost coach Gregg Berhalter his job.
When Balogun was shown red against Bosnia last week, albeit in controversial fashion after a VAR call, supporters were left fearing the worst.
So too, were his teammates.
But this summer’s World Cup has already shown Mauricio Pochettino‘s USMNT are different, and against the odds, they battled on with 10 men to book a spot in the last-16.
Malik Tillman’s late freekick secured the 2-0 win, and that moment of magic was paired with a ‘relentlessness’ that wasn’t present two years ago to get the team across the line.
USMNT battled ‘déjà vu’ after Folarin Balogun’s red card
The US will face Belgium on Monday night for a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals, and midfielder Tyler Adams has been encouraged by how his team responded after going a man down against Bosnia.
“For a lot of those players on the field, I don’t want to say it felt like déjà vu, but we went through a Copa America situation where we went down a man,” he told reporters.
“It felt like we’d been in that situation before, and knew how to rally. In the Copa America, when that happened and we were already winning 1-0, things changed really quickly and we crumbled a little bit.
“Whereas, in this situation, you saw a relentlessness from the team, commitment from the team and the guys that came off the bench.
“They had the energy to keep us in it.
“Then you need some moments of brilliance — Malik to be able to score that goal he scored to give us a 2-0 lead — it gave us that extra belief.”
Tyler Adams backs US to show ‘quality’ as Folarin Balogun returns to fold
Balogun’s red card was controversial, and after days of discussion, the automatic ban that usually follows has been suspended.
talkSPORT understands the White House put pressure on FIFA to review the decision, however football’s governing body have done the same for several red cards in recent months, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s against the Republic of Ireland.
The decision means he’ll be available for the game against Belgium, the biggest in US soccer for more than two decades.
And as history beckons, Adams knows a full-strength team will be able to compete with Belgium all over the field.
“It’s a huge challenge, obviously they have so much quality,” he said of the challenge.
“That being said, we have a belief that we have a lot of quality all over the field as well.
“We think it’s going to be a great duel, but we have to manage situations in certain parts of the field, and win our duels, and be competitive.
“Ultimately, that can hopefully lead to a win.”
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