The USMNT’s World Cup run ended with a thud on Monday, a 4-1 loss to Belgium that wasn’t as close as the score suggests. But one moment after the final whistle is getting more attention than anything that happened during the match.
Folarin Balogun, the striker whose controversial red card suspension was overturned just days earlier, walked straight up to Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia and had a conversation. Garcia didn’t brush him off. He actually liked it.
“He came to talk to me. I really liked that. It is not his fault; he is not the one to blame — that’s what I told him,” Garcia said, via José Roberto Nuñez of Philly Voice. “I really appreciate the intention that he came to see me. I appreciate this player.”
The red card mess that won’t go away
Let’s be clear about what happened before this game. Balogun got a straight red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. Studs up, ankle high. Textbook red. Normally that means a one-game suspension. FIFA’s judicial committee decided to let him play anyway, with a one-year probation attached. That decision didn’t sit well with a lot of people.
And then Balogun went out and played 90 mostly invisible minutes against Belgium. He had a few half-chances. Nothing that changed the game. The USMNT got carved up by a Belgian side that looked every bit the contender they were supposed to be.
So in a way, the controversy ended up being much ado about nothing. Balogun was on the field. It didn’t matter.
Why Garcia’s words matter here
Garcia didn’t have to say anything nice about Balogun. His team just won. He could have taken the win and moved on. But he went out of his way to acknowledge a player who was at the center of a firestorm he didn’t start.
Because let’s be real — Balogun didn’t lobby for the suspension to be overturned. He didn’t go to FIFA and plead his case. The federation did that. He just got caught in the middle of a messy situation that was out of his control.
Walking over to the winning coach after a blowout loss and having a genuine conversation? That’s not nothing. Especially not in a tournament where emotions run that high.
Balogun is 24. He’ll be back for the next cycle. And Garcia’s comments suggest the incident hasn’t damaged his reputation on the international stage. If anything, it might have helped it.
Leave a Comment