The United States will seek its first World Cup quarterfinal berth since 2002 when it faces Belgium Monday in Seattle with free watch parties set throughout Los Angeles County.
Folarin Balogun, the Americans’ leading goal-scorer in the tournament, will be eligible to play in the 5 p.m. match after FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, on Sunday suspended his automatic one-match ban for receiving a red card in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In a statement released Sunday to the sports news website The Athletic, FIFA said, “In line with Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year. If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
The Royal Belgian Football Association issued a statement saying it was “astonished by FIFA’s decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA-Belgium match. …
“FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.
“However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team’s next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup.
“Furthermore, and irrespective of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, as set out in Article 10.5:
“If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.”
“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026.
“The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.
“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.”
Belgium has been granted the right to appeal against FIFA’s decision to suspend the one-game ban handed to Balogun, The Athletic reported late Sunday, citing sources it did not identify.
Both U.S. Soccer and the Belgian federation were asked to make submissions by 5 a..m. Monday morning, according to The Athletic.
A member of the FIFA appeals committee, who does not represent a federation in either Europe, North America, Central America or the Caribbean to avoid any potential conflict of interest, has been selected to hear the case, The Athletic reported.
U.S. Soccer issued this statement Sunday:
“We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete …. Our full attention is focused on the round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.”
The British sports radio station Talksport was first to report President Donald Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask for Balogun’s suspension to be reviewed.
White House World Cup Task Force members were also involved in conversations with FIFA, as was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Talksport reported.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote on social media Sunday.
There was no immediate response to an email sent to the White House early Monday Eastern Time seeking comment on the Talksport report.
Balogun was shown a red card in the 64th minute Wednesday following a video review by referee Raphael Claus, who ruled that Balogun’s cleat caught Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic.
Balogun has figured in the scoring in each of the three World Cup matches he has played. He scored twice in the Americans’ 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the tournament opener June 12 at SoFi Stadium.
In the 2-0 victory over Australia June 19 in Seattle, Balogun fired a short cross into a dangerous area defender Cameron Burgess knocked upward and into his own net from close range for an own goal.
Balogun scored the opening goal against Bosnia-Herzegovina Wednesday in Santa Clara in the victory that advanced the U.S. into the round of 16.
Monday’s match comes three days after Balogun’s 25th birthday. He was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Yoruba Nigerian parents, who were living in London, and visited New York when his mother was seven months pregnant with him.
Airline staff did not allow her to board the family’s return flight to London due to safety concerns over the advanced state of her pregnancy, causing Balogun to be born in Brooklyn. He returned to the United Kingdom with his parents when he was two months old and grew up in London, which he considers his hometown, according to U.S. Soccer.
Belgium advanced to the round of 16 with a 3-2 victory over Senegal Wednesday, overcoming a 2-0 deficit with Romelu Lukaku-h scoring in the 80th minute, Youri Tielemans in the 89th minute and the match-winner five minutes into second-half stoppage time.
The Red Devils are ninth in the unofficial rankings released after the completion of Sunday’s play by FIFA. The U.S. is ranked 16th. The ranking is considered unofficial until all matches are approved as international `A’ matches. The latest official ranking was released June 11, the day the World Cup began.
The Opta supercomputer gives the Americans a 50.53% chance of advancing to the quarterfinals based on 10,000 pre-match simulations, Belgium a 49.47% chance.
The U.S.-Belgium winner will face the winner of Monday’s noon group of 16 match between Spain and Portugal in a quarterfinal Friday at noon at SoFi Stadium.
Free watch parties for both matches will be held at the Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park in Harbor City, Echo Park and Sheldon-Arleta Park as part of the Kick It In the Park program organized by various city of Los Angeles departments.
A free watch party for the first match will also be held at the Los Angeles Central Library’s Taper Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles as part of the program.
Free watch parties for both matches will also be held at Galaxy Park at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and the Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles.
A free watch party for the U.S.-Belgium match organized by AV Alta FC of USL League One will be held at Sgt. Steve Owen Park in Lancaster.
Both matches will be televised in English by Fox and in Spanish by Telemundo.