New Delhi: The US men’s national team’s 4-1 defeat to Belgium on Monday led to the Red Devils trolling President Donald Trump and the host nation of the FIFA World Cup. “Overturn this”, said a post by the Belgian football team’s handle on X, after the match began under a shadow of scandal over the suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun’s red card.
FIFA’s eleventh-hour rule suspension to allow Folarin Balogun to appear for the USMNT despite a one-match ban was heavily criticised by multiple European footballing governing bodies. Balogun, who received a red card in the Round of 32 for stamping on Bosnia & Herzegovina’s defender Tarik Muhamerović.
The red card meant that Balogun would not be able to play versus Belgium. A push by Trump led to FIFA suspending Balogun’s penalty. The Belgian football association reacted with fury to this.
However, with their dominating win against the US, the Red Devils were the first to poke fun at the USMNT’s result, with their official X handle posting “overturn this” with a picture of Romelu Lukaku celebrating the fourth goal of the game.
A thumping win on US soil
The Red Devils did not just defeat the US, but they did so with aplomb. Taking a lead, the Belgians were pulled back to 1-1 due to a deflected free-kick by Mallik Tillman. Within seconds, Charles De Ketelaere scored his second of the game, ensuring the Red Devils maintained their lead.
The USMNT’s poor performance was compounded by an error by goalkeeper Matt Freese, who left the box and was dispossessed by the Belgians, leading to Hans Vanaken scoring an easy finish to make it 3-1. Lukaku’s added time fourth was piling on the complete defeat of the UMSNT.
But the Red Devils did not just end the game there. Following Lukaku’s goal, the Belgian team all came together to do a dance which was extremely similar to Trump’s own famed fist-bumping move, to further embarrass the USMNT.
The USMNT, which had lit up the World Cup, led by Balogun’s three goals, were now being embarrassed by a motivated Belgian squad that had been listless for most of this tournament. The ageing stars of the Red Devils made the trip to the FIFA World Cup 2026, appearing in what would be, for many, their last tournament.
The celebrations by the Red Devils came as the anger of FIFA’s move to suspend Balogun’s suspension had yet to wear off. The Belgians had appealed the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision, which was rejected on Monday.
The Belgians received support from several countries and even UEFA – the Union of European Football Associations – over FIFA’s decision. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has repeatedly boasted of his close friendship with Trump, had to defend the Geneva-based organisation’s decision, and “independence” of the judicial organs.
However, Trump on Monday had further added pressure when he publicly said that he had called Infantino to discuss Balogun’s sending-off. The suspension of Balogun’s suspension was not the first time FIFA did that this year. Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo had his own match suspensions rescinded ahead of the tournament, allowing him to appear in all three Group Stage matches of the tournament.
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Back in 1962
The last time such a move was made during the tournament was in 1962. Former players have come out criticising the decision. Former German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who played in the 2002 World Cup final, in stinging criticism of FIFA, suggested that the match in Germany, which Germany lost to Brazil, be replayed.
“If we’re rewriting football history now, I have a small suggestion. I’d like FIFA to rescind the yellow card shown to Michael Ballack in the 2002 World Cup semifinal, the one that ruled him out of the final. And while we’re at it, we might as well replay the final against Brazil,” said Kahn on X.
The Red Devils now face European champions Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday, while the USMNT, the last of the teams from the hosting nations, bow out until the qualifiers for the next edition.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)