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Belgium: Who’s still making phone calls now?
On the match day of the “Clash of Two Spanish Giants,” when Belgium played the United States, it originally didn’t attract many fans.
But unfortunately, way too much drama was added before the game even started.
A red card, a FIFA president, and a head of state turned this match into a joke before the kickoff.
That head of state claimed he “really understands sports,” and believed the action by U.S. player Balogun that earned him a red card was simply “not a foul at all,” “not even a violation.”
He said publicly that he couldn’t figure out at all why a player had to receive a red card on the pitch and then, in the next match, still be suspended. “Being sent off on the spot is already a punishment.”
So, in the Round of 16 of the America–Canada–Mexico World Cup, Balogun—who had received a red card—got his wish and ended up standing on the pitch against Belgium, starting the match.
That head of state may really “understand sports,” but he definitely doesn’t understand the Belgium team. That’s a squad nobody interferes with—one where even teammates can end up fighting each other.
And precisely because of that, when they present a united front, a team of the United States’ quality just isn’t enough to make a difference.
An extreme pressure test
A series of off-field incidents before the match left both Belgium and the United States carrying a massive psychological burden. This was a match that both sides believed they could not afford to lose.
The mindset of the U.S. team was: We already have the advantage. If we end up not taking the match, that would be too embarrassing.
The mindset of the Belgium team, meanwhile, was: We’ve been wronged. We must win the match in a fair and straightforward way to prove they’re wrong.
With a gap in strength between the two sides, Belgium—highly focused—quickly took control of the game. They took the lead in the 9th minute.
Although the U.S. team later equalized through a free kick, very soon they won the lead again through a counterattack, with a cross from the wing restoring their advantage once more.
By contrast, the U.S. team—using high-position pressing and fast transitions in earlier matches—looked completely helpless against a Belgium side that was united in purpose.
What’s more, the heightened nerves forced the U.S. team to start making all kinds of outrageous mistakes. The defender-captain Ream repeatedly got caught out of position, making the scene in front of the U.S. goal feel tense and ominous.
Not long after the second half began, another stupid mistake by the U.S. goalkeeper—again, with Ream standing at the back—contributed a disaster-level defensive showing, as he watched the ball slide into the net.
With star player Pulisic going off injured, the U.S. team completely lost control of the match.
After leading 3-1, Belgium didn’t think about how to protect the victory. Instead, they kept sending attacking players onto the pitch. The logic was very clear: they wanted to beat you so thoroughly that you would be convinced of it from start to finish.
With Lukaku scoring in stoppage time, the final score ended at 4-1.
The U.S. team could have left this World Cup in a proud manner, but now they could only end the fight in a very disgraceful way.
Some fans might ask: What about Balogun, the U.S. player who originally got a red card and then still came back onto the field?
His pressure may have been more than anyone else combined, and several of his shots looked like they lacked confidence. After all, football is a game played by 11 players—no matter how excellent one player is, it’s hard for him to directly decide the direction of a match.
And besides, he wasn’t just Balogun.
An unprecedentedly united Belgium
Looking back after the match, if none of these things had happened before kickoff, it’s really hard to say whether Belgium could have won so smoothly in this game.
Within the Belgium squad, players like De Bruyne, Lukaku, and Courtois are getting older, while Doku and Trossard have had more fluctuation in form; injuries have kept piling up in the back line, and the team lacks a clear tactical mindset.
Not only that—low desire to win has always been a problem that exists within the Belgium team.
It often happens in big tournaments: as the game goes on, the guys are playing, and their thinking starts to diverge. With 11 people on the pitch, everyone has different ideas, and internal friction occurs frequently.
Almost every Belgium head coach understands that the team’s players’ talent isn’t the issue. What matters is how to “put these people together properly.”
But this time, the timing of the “Balogun red card” was simply too perfect—exactly the moment when Belgium might start to relax.
As the saying goes, when you’re about to doze off, someone brings you a pillow.
Right before the match, that blow landed at exactly the right time, sparking an “unprecedentedly united” Belgium. On the pitch, every player fought bravely, vied for superiority, and there was no longer anything going on between them.
Even the forward De Ketelaere—who had been listless in a few matches before—got angry and, in a fit of frustration, scored two goals.
That left the U.S. team truly unable to handle it. They thought they had picked up a great bargain, but they ended up activating Belgium in its “full-strength” form.
For the U.S. team, what was left was nothing but a collapse like a mountain falling.