Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- A USMNT star is cleared to play in Monday's round of 16 match but faces a pending eligibility challenge from an opponent nation.
- The decision to include him could risk a match forfeit if an emergency sports court sides with the protesting team after kickoff.
- The coach must decide whether to deploy his top scorer or adjust the entire attack to avoid potential postseason consequences.
United States striker Folarin Balogun is permitted to play in the Americans' round of 16 showdown against Belgium on Monday night in Seattle (at least for now). But will he? And is the U.S. out of the woods yet as the appeals process continues on? Those are other questions entirely, ones that sports fans around the world have waited on with bated breath. And now, just over an hour before kickoff, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has released his starting XI — with Balogun up top.
Folarin Balogun availability update: USMNT star cleared to play vs. Belgium
When Balogun was issued a straight red card via controversial VAR review in the second half of the USMNT's round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, it seemed settled that he would be suspended for the team's next match — robbing them of their most dangerous scoring threat. But then, remarkably, FIFA changed its mind, announcing that his one-match suspension had been suspended for one year.
It's a decision with some precedent; Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, was able to play in his team's first two matches at this World Cup only after FIFA suspended part of his three-match suspension for a red card given during qualifying. But it nonetheless touched off a worldwide controversy, as fans cry foul and Belgium's soccer federation pursues every possible avenue of appeal.
Pochettino himself was coy about whether he planned to start Balogun when asked by reporters, saying only that he was pleased by FIFA's reversal. In reality, though, there was never any chance that the Americans were going to pass on the opportunity to have their best finisher in the lineup.
USA starting XI vs. Belgium: Folarin Balogun is back
What might the U.S. XI look like with and without Balogun? The former is a pretty easy question to answer, as Pochettino has gone with largely the same lineup throughout this tournament so far. The formation has been tweaked, but for the most part the components have remained constant: Balogun and Christian Pulisic up top with Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman and Tyler Adams in central midfield, Sergino Dest and Antonee Robinson on the wings and Tim Ream, Chris Richards and Alex Freeman at the back. That will almost certainly be the case again on Monday if Balogun does indeed play.
With Balogun given the go-ahead, Pochettino is using the same starting XI that we've seen for most of this tournament so far, including the round of 32 win over Bosnia. Here's how the U.S. will line up, as the Americans continue to use a back three with Sergino Dest and Antonee Robinson on the wings and Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Malik Tillman in the middle with Balogun and Christian Pulisic up top.
Position | Player |
|---|---|
GK | Matt Freese |
LB | Tim Ream |
CB | Chris Richards |
RB | Alex Freeman |
LM | Sergino Dest |
CM | Weston McKennie |
CM | Tyler Adams |
CM | Malik Tillman |
RM | Antonee Robinson |
ST | Christian Pulisic |
ST | Folarin Balogun |
Having Balogun back is undoubtedly a huge boon for the USMNT's hopes of a victory on Monday night. Still, it must be said that the decision to play him isn't entirely without risk, as Belgium's final appeal could yet throw a wrench in the works of this dream run.
Folarin Balogun's eligibility status: Belgium protest looms
Belgium first attempted to appeal the decision to FIFA directly, only to have that challenge promptly slapped down, the appeal committee deeming their request "inadmissible” given that the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) was not one of the relevant parties in the matter.
So, is the matter settled? Not exactly. Belgium had one more lever to pull, filing a claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport's Ad Hoc Division — a panel set up exclusively for this year's World Cup and designed to issue quick decisions on matters of eligibility. You might know the CAS from any of a number of international doping cases, most of which have involved the Olympics. But they have jurisdiction over the World Cup as well.
Once Belgium's claim is filed, the Ad Hoc Division will appoint three arbitrators from their global panel, which will have 24 hours to make a decision one way or the other. That means we almost certainly won't have a ruling before kickoff at 8 p.m. ET on Monday night. But it does mean that, if the U.S. chooses to play Balogun and the CAS then rules him ineligible afterward, the USMNT would forfeit the match and Belgium would advance regardless of the result on the field.
Of course, history tells us that's pretty unlikely. The CAS is as ethically sketchy an institution as FIFA, and they very rarely buck the international federations from whom they derive their authority — and, crucially, their money. Still, it does introduce at least some risk as Pochettino gets set to make his final decision regarding one of his best players.
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