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Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Garrincha … Folarin Balogun. The USMNT forward now finds himself in rare company alongside three soccer icons following his eventful performance in Wednesday's round of 32 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup.
Balogun netted just before the break against Bosnia and Herzegovina, slotting into the bottom corner for his third goal of the tournament. Only an offside call had denied the Monaco forward an earlier strike in the contest, which the U.S. ultimately won 2–0 to advance to the round of 16.
However, by the time Malik Tillman added the second goal, Balogun was already off the field. He had been dismissed after 64 minutes for what was ruled serious foul play following a VAR check. Balogun's boot had caught the back of Tarik Muharemović's ankle. The contact appeared unintentional, but that was not sufficient to prevent the red card from being shown.
This makes Balogun just the fourth player in World Cup history to score and receive a red card in the same knockout stage game. Zidane, Ronaldinho and Garrincha were the three who came before him.
Zidane was famously sent off in the 2006 final for headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi, having put France ahead from the penalty spot earlier in the match.
Ronaldinho experienced the same fate in 2002, netting a chipped free kick for Brazil against England that turned out to be the decisive goal. He was later dismissed for a challenge on fullback Danny Mills. The decision was widely viewed as harsh, with the BBC's match report labeling the referee as "over-officious."
Garrincha was the first player to 'achieve' this unusual double some 40 years earlier. The legendary Brazilian winger, already a World Cup winner in 1958, was the standout performer at the 1962 tournament. He dazzled throughout but reached another level in the semifinal against host Chile, until persistent fouling from desperate defenders pushed him into violent retaliation.
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How Long Is Folarin Balogun Suspended for?
Garrincha was sent off, though formal red and yellow cards were not introduced to soccer until 1970. The suspension system was also far less structured than today, and he was still allowed to feature in the final following what appeared to be an intervention by Chilean president Jorge Alessandri.
The 2006 World Cup final was Zidane's last professional match, so any suspension handed down was irrelevant as he never played competitive soccer again. Ronaldinho served a ban for Brazil's semifinal against Türkiye in 2002 but was available for the final against Germany.
Balogun must now sit out the USMNT's round of 16 clash against Belgium, which is a notable setback given his contributions at this World Cup. The most likely replacement is Ricardo Pepi, who filled in when Balogun was rested for the group stage dead rubber against Türkiye.
SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.
FIFA holds the authority to extend a suspension if considered necessary, as was the case with Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo at this very tournament, though that outcome seems unlikely for Balogun.
After round of 16 eliminations in 2010, 2014 and 2022, the USMNT is looking to win at this stage of the competition for only the second time in their history. Their last such victory came in 2002.