American forward Folarin Balogun will start tonight for the USMNT against Belgium in the World Cup last-16 knockout match. Balogun was sent off in the previous round against Bosnia and Herzegovina and was due to serve a one-match suspension tonight — before world football governing body FIFA unusually lifted the ban following an effort from…
FIFA’s disciplinary committee, the body that lifted American striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension ahead of Monday’s U.S.-Belgium game, defended its decision in a statement released hours before kickoff in Seattle — but didn’t explain the rationale for making it. In the 13-paragraph statement, the committee explained the body’s rationale for reconsidering Balogun’s suspension. The review…
FIFA’s leading critic in the European Parliament told POLITICO that the decision to lift a key American player’s one-game suspension was the latest example of an “unbroken pattern” of nontransparent governance in world football’s governing body. Last week, centrist Irish MEP Barry Andrews penned a letter urging FIFA to investigate its president, Gianni Infantino, over…
GORHAM, Maine — The dam has broken on Graham Platner’s candidacy. Democratic leaders in Maine and Washington, along with a growing pack of Platner’s close supporters, abandoned his Senate campaign on Monday after POLITICO reported that a woman who dated him said he forced her to have sex with him. Platner called the allegation false….
The news that Folarin Balogun would be eligible to suit up against Belgium Monday night was met with near-universal celebration across the United States. Just don’t ask Belgian fans in the seat of U.S. power. POLITICO caught up with several of them at the Belgian embassy’s watch party at Wunder Garten, a trendy bar in…
President Donald Trump said earlier Monday that he didn’t know what a red card was before last Wednesday’s U.S.-Bosnia match. But FIFA President Gianni Infantino actually gave him a lesson on soccer’s disciplinary system during a 2018 Oval Office meeting after the United States secured the right to co-host the 2026 World Cup. During the…
Sam Liccardo said he “groaned excessively” when the U.S. national team’s Folarin Balogun was given a red card. Yet the Silicon Valley representative objected after President Donald Trump pressed FIFA to review the play at issue, before the world soccer organization suspended the penalty and allowed the U.S.’ lead scorer to play in today’s knockout…
It was a disastrous night for the co-hosts. And the United States men’s national team’s leader thinks the blame should fall squarely on his shoulders. After falling 4-1 to Belgium in Seattle, United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino spoke with FOX Sports’ Jenny Taft about the bitter result. “Maybe the explanation is so easy: it…
While the USA’s World Cup run ended in difficult fashion on Monday night in Seattle, former national team players noted that there are plenty of positives to take away from this tournament. Belgium knocked the U.S. out with an impressive performance that ended with a 4-1 win. The Americans conceded in the ninth minute. Malik…
What was such an inspiring World Cup journey came to a disappointing end. When the competition gets harder, there are more consequences for not performing. It can’t be a day when so many guys are passengers. On the day, it was simple: Belgium was the better side. The performance today was nowhere near what these…
