England Might Use USMNT’s Own Red Card Loophole to Keep Jarell Quansah Eligible vs. Norway

The Football Association is looking into whether it can pull the same trick the U.S. men’s national team just used to keep Folarin Balogun on the field. And if it works, Jarell Quansah could still suit up for England in the World Cup quarterfinals against Norway.

Balogun got a red card in the USMNT’s Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. That should have meant a one-game suspension. But the U.S. appealed, and the punishment got pushed back to after the World Cup. Balogun played in the next match. Simple as that.

Now England wants the same treatment for Quansah. According to a post on X from the Independent’s Miguel Delaney, the FA is exploring its options and likely to submit a similar appeal in the coming days. The team has not confirmed anything yet, but the logic is pretty clear: if the precedent exists, why not use it?

Quansah got his red card in the 54th minute of England’s wild 3-2 win over Mexico at Estadio Azteca. It was an open-studs challenge that initially drew just a yellow. But after a review, the officials upgraded it to red. That left England down a man for more than half an hour against a Mexico team that had lost only twice in 89 competitive games at that stadium.

And somehow England survived. Jude Bellingham put on a show, scoring twice in less than three minutes to give his team a 2-0 lead. Julian Quinones pulled one back for Mexico in the 42nd minute, making it 2-1 at halftime. Then Quansah got sent off early in the second half, and suddenly it felt like everything could fall apart.

Mexico pushed hard. England bent but didn’t break. Then Harry Kane won a penalty in the 60th minute and buried it. That put him on six goals for the tournament, one behind the Golden Boot trio of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. Raul Jimenez converted a penalty of his own for Mexico in the 69th minute, and the final 20-plus minutes were just chaos. England held on. Barely.

The win was historic given Mexico’s record at Azteca. But losing Quansah for the Norway game would be a real blow. The FA clearly thinks the Balogun case gives them a path. Expect an official appeal any day now.