Balogun available – FIFA rescinded Folarin Balogun’s red-card suspension for Monday’s World Cup last-16 match against Belgium, flipping the US’s preparation from “without their top scorer” to “with him again.” The reversal also forces Belgium to adjust from planning to contain Ri
A few days of World Cup last-16 preparation were built around one absence: Folarin Balogun, the United States’ top scorer, out after a red card. Then Sunday delivered a jolt. FIFA rescinded Balogun’s red-card suspension for Monday’s match against Belgium.
By the time Belgium reached their match work, their plan had to bend. They had been moving toward a setup that would likely involve either Ricardo Pepi or Haji Wright leading the line. Now the US will have Balogun available.
For Belgium, that shift matters because it changes the kind of threat they have to manage—less about blocking a familiar role player and more about controlling a forward who arrives in form.
Belgium’s last 16 doesn’t come with many easy comparisons. The two most recent clashes between the teams are an imperfect yardstick. and the backdrop is different: Belgium carry four holdovers from their 2-1 victory over the US at the 2014 World Cup; the Americans have none. March’s 5-2 Belgium win feels similarly misleading for what Monday is likely to look like. This World Cup has not belonged to Belgium in the way their possession-heavy identity suggests it should.
Rudi Garcia’s side won Group G by edging Egypt on goal difference, finishing one point ahead of eliminated Iran. In the last 32. they trailed Senegal 2-0 in the 82nd minute before forcing extra time. then capped the comeback with a controversially awarded penalty for the latest goal in World Cup history.
Through four games, Belgium retained 57% possession and posted a 65% field tilt—a possession metric that weighs only final-third touches. The numbers are strong. The payoff hasn’t consistently matched them.
Belgium’s time in possession often sits in the prime midfield space before the ball is sprayed wide, where Jérémy Doku and Leandro Trossard try to fashion shots cutting inside. There’s also uncertainty around how to best use Romelu Lukaku after a lost year with Napoli.
Style does matter here, and the trend is clear: Belgium have won the possession battle in all four of their games, with Senegal coming closest in a 52-48 split. The United States, meanwhile, have maintained a 58% share of the ball in their four games—neck-and-neck with Garcia’s Belgium.
If Mauricio Pochettino’s side can keep the ball off Belgian feet often enough, it could unsettle the Red Devils.
Belgium’s possession approach also has a downstream effect on their defense. Holding the ball gives them time and shape; it keeps opponents from sizing up their backline. When the ball is regained, Belgium can be vulnerable down the flanks. Center-backs Brandon Mechele and Arthur Theate often defend passively rather than roaming to win it back. Iran’s Mehdi Taremi exploited that, using nimble feints and incisive movement in the channels.
That vulnerability sits next to a separate burden: Youri Tielemans has a high responsibility to help possession advance toward Kevin De Bruyne’s deft feet. The trade-off is that the backline can end up with minimal shielding.
The forward line doesn’t press intensely—Belgium rank in the bottom half of the 48-team field with three high-regains per game. Even so, there are worse keepers to trust than Thibaut Courtois. Pushing teams wide also limits dangerous shots. Still, Belgium have weaknesses the US can exploit.
Senegal nearly beat Belgium by using width—moving quickly to their wingers and creating overloads through full-backs joining the attack.
And now Belgium face that broader problem again, except this time with Balogun.
Before the red-card suspension was reversed. Pochettino seemed headed toward supplemental adjustments. because his backup strikers weren’t interchangeable in how they’d change the US’s rhythm. Pepi offers better hold-up play, but that can slow the US attack as sequences progress, with him dropping deeper. Wright would have been a more natural channel-running option to lead the line. but has played just one minute in the tournament to date.
Balogun. by contrast. offers a blend: an underrated fulcrum to hold off defenders while teammates join the attack. and a natural at finding pockets to exploit along the backline. His X-factor is the respect he commands from opponents—defenses can’t easily shift focus away from a striker with clever movement and first-time finishing.
That kind of attention opens space in the final third for everyone around him, including attacking midfielders operating directly beneath him. It also shapes how Belgium defend the wide areas where Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest can get involved.
The matchup could be especially uncomfortable for Belgium after how they struggled to deal with Senegal’s wide overloads. Belgium’s buildup has frequently centered on passing triangles up the left and right flanks. putting Balogun. Christian Pulisic. Weston McKennie. and Malik Tillman into positions to score when the ball cuts back into the box.
If Belgium are late to handle what happens after those cutbacks, Monday’s game could swing on the space Balogun creates.
Senegal’s near-miss showed how width can break plans. The US’s ball control and Balogun’s threat might offer the next version of that problem.
The decision to make Balogun available again is now set to become a defining subplot of the US’s run. whether it ends on Monday or continues into the quarter-final and beyond. For Pochettino. it also means he can prepare for the biggest game of his international management career to date with his most trusted goalscorer in tow.
Folarin Balogun USA vs Belgium World Cup last-16 Mauricio Pochettino Ricardo Pepi Haji Wright Belgium Romelu Lukaku Kevin De Bruyne