Hmmmm … Trump again!
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The United States’ quest to get Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned may have opened a Pandora’s box – one specifically designed to contain the national team’s worst nightmares.
With a country on the verge of falling in love with this team, and tens of millions eager for a reason to embrace the glory and pride this sport can provide, there were instead questions of fairness and propriety. A star striker, who made an honest, unintentional mistake – and said and did all the right things – became a talking point. And a day later, on an otherwise beautiful Monday evening in the Pacific north-west, the United States’ World Cup dream ended with a thud.
With a 4-1 loss to Belgium in the last 16, the US’s quest to change the way the world views American soccer ended at the same stage as it did in their last three World Cup appearances. The question this team rallied around – “Why not us?” – has been replaced by “What could have been?” Or, quite possibly: “What the hell just happened?”
Because though there were fleeting moments of hope, this US performance paled in comparison to those that set the world on notice earlier in this competition. No US team has looked better at a World Cup. No US team before scored goals like the ones they did – goals of quality and ingenuity. No US team before defended quite this capably, over such long periods of time.
Yet it ended with missed defensive assignments, poor giveaways and a moment of pure panic from the goalkeeper Matt Freese that sealed the US’s fate.
“From the beginning, we didn’t connect with the game. Even when we scored the goal, we conceded the next action. Congratulations, Belgium, they were better than us,” Mauricio Pochettino, the US coach, said after the game. “We didn’t show what this team can show.”
Given the events of the previous 36 hours, the US lineup came as no surprise. There was Balogun, starting up top in the same XI that so impressed against Paraguay and Bosnia and Herzegovina. His presence was always expected after his controversial, Trump-driven reinstatement.
On this evening, though, it was the Belgium manager, Rudi Garcia, who provided the first surprise. Two of the team’s stars, Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku, were omitted from the starting XI even though they were both healthy. Nicolas Raskin came in as the Red Devils’ central playmaker and Dodi Lukébakio replaced Doku on the wing. Lukébakio had terrorized the US in a friendly between the sides in March, scoring two goals in a 5-2 win that raised serious questions about the US’s ability to deal with the world’s best teams.
Consider those questions answered.
The US can’t claim there weren’t warning signs. In the eighth minute, Amadou Onana shrugged off several challenges and slipped the ball through to Lukébakio. The winger knifed through the US defense, sending a nice ball across the face of goal that Youri Tielemans scuffed. The danger had passed, but not for long.
Soon after, Belgium connected. This time, it was a long ball up from the back behind Alex Freeman that Leandro Trossard controlled with a single touch. His deflected pass was met by Raskin with a brilliant first touch of his own. He bounced the ball into the ground and past a flock of US defenders, giving Charles De Ketelaere a simple finish. The finish was deflating for the US fans, who dominated the stadium. For the second time at this World Cup, a high-flying US team faced a healthy dose of adversity.
And just as they did in the dead-rubber group game against Turkey, they crumbled. Weston McKennie, usually reliable and safe at this World Cup, handed Belgium additional opportunities through loose touches and misplaced passes. Christian Pulisic was frequently dispossessed in the midfield. Chris Richards, an anchor at the back, nearly gave the ball to De Ketelaere on the doorstep of goal. It took desperate defending to prevent a second Belgian goal.
Malik Tillman’s equalizer came out of nowhere. Balogun was vital, winning a free-kick on the edge of the area with some nice hold-up play. Just as he had against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week, Tillman sent a looping ball over the wall, finding a kind deflection from Hans Vanaken to flat-foot Thibaut Courtois. With the goal, Tillman became just the second player in World Cup history to score twice from direct free-kicks in a single tournament.
That will be cold comfort for the US. Any hopes of Tillman’s strike kicking off a US fightback were quickly extinguished. Once again, the Belgian threat came from the US’s right. Trossard found space behind Freeman and played a well-weighted ball on to the head of De Ketelaere, who had done well to muscle between Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson.
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Folarin Balogun reflects as the US make their way to defeat against Belgium. Photograph: Sarah Stier/FIFA/Getty Images
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James' World 2 
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