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When FIFA made the shocking move to overturn the red card suspension of U.S. men's national team forward Folarin Balogun, it may have been the moment everything unraveled.
Perhaps it's time we stop being surprised by the unexpected from soccer's ruling body. Regardless, the extraordinary decision to defer Balogun's one-game ban — earned in the round of 32 — for a full year instantly shattered the momentum that had been building around the American squad at the 2026 World Cup up to that point.
And they were going to need every bit of that momentum. Facing top-10 ranked Belgium in the round of 16, the USMNT had been widely tipped to upset the global powerhouse and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in more than two decades, largely thanks to the remarkable run that had carried them to that stage.
While Mauricio Pochettino's side got their key scorer back, they lost something far more valuable — their confidence. It soon emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump had personally intervened in the red card reversal, placing a direct call to his close ally, FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The ruling drew fierce backlash from nations around the world, who raised serious concerns not only about political interference in soccer's biggest tournament, but also about FIFA's overall credibility — an institution that has faced mounting scrutiny over Infantino's recent revenue-driven initiatives.
Star midfielder Malik Tillman, whose free kick against Belgium stood as the lone highlight in a crushing 4–1 defeat, also condemned the red card reversal.
"Balogun is a key player for us and for the squad. Looking back, though, something like that shouldn't have happened," Tillman said in an interview with the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger ahead of his upcoming season with Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. "A red card is a red card and should be upheld. I don't know who had influence over it. But you shouldn't be stepping in after a red card suspension and trying to overturn the decision."
The American side that took to Lumen Field bore little resemblance to the team that had competed all summer, robbed of the fighting spirit and underdog identity that had become its hallmark.
Balogun himself weighed in on the controversial reversal. "My first reaction was relief to be back in the squad, but as I started to think it over, I knew it was going to stir up a lot of controversy," Balogun told CBS Mornings last month. "And I could almost sense a nervousness among my teammates. Because it really was something so unprecedented.
"As the match drew closer, I tried to stay as focused as I could, but it was tough. There was so much noise from outside, and that's hard to block out."
Red Card Controversy Far From Over
Following Infantino's proposal to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors, the controversy surrounding Balogun's red card reversal has resurfaced once again.
Infantino is facing intense pressure from multiple soccer confederations, particularly UEFA, over his push to effectively put soccer's flagship event up for sale — a plan that would have seen Thrive Eternal, a venture capital firm founded and run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump's son-in-law, "lead the proposed investor group."
Though Infantino was compelled to swiftly abandon the plan, lingering questions remain about his ongoing ties to Trump and the degree of influence the U.S. president appears to wield at the highest levels of FIFA.
Trump denied any prior knowledge of Infantino's proposal before it leaked to the press, but has since come to the FIFA chief's defense, issuing a stark warning to the coalition currently mobilizing against him ahead of the FIFA presidential election in March.
"FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino," Trump posted on Truth Social this week. "He is fantastic, having just presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented. If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again!"