US eliminated from World Cup after 4-1 loss to Belgium, red card controversy

(NEW YORK) — The United States’ run in the 2026 World Cup has come to a close after a 4-1 loss to Belgium on Monday.

The loss comes after the U.S. men’s national team’s star striker, Folarin Balogun, was deemed eligible to play in the match after his one-game suspension from a red card was put on hold by FIFA.

While the U.S. team expected a boost from Balogun’s presence on the pitch, it could not recover from a pair of goals in the first half from Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere, despite a free kick goal from U.S. midfielder Malik Tillman that very briefly tied the game. Two more Belgian goals in the second half put victory out of reach for the Americans.

Belgium will go on to face Spain in the quarterfinals in Los Angeles on Friday.

Balogun was given a red card during the July 1 game against Bosnia-Herzegovina after the U.S. player clashed with an opposing player’s foot in the second half. The penalty automatically landed Balogun a one-game suspension. FIFA told ABC News at the time that the call was final and not able to be overturned or appealed.

FIFA said on Sunday that “the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.”

The football governing body added that if Balogun “commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”

Ahead of Monday night’s game, the U.S. men’s national team confirmed that Balogun will be in the starting lineup.

The Royal Belgium Football Association (RBFA) released a statement Sunday that said in part that it was “astonished” by FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play in Monday’s match against them.

“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options,” the RBFA statement further said.

European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, said in a statement on Monday that a red card suspension is “a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension.”

“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,” UEFA said.

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino told reporters after last week’s match, which the U.S. won 2-0, that Balogun was “sad” and “disappointed” about the call and that the clash was not intentional, according to ESPN.

The USMNT’s victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina was their first in the World Cup round of 32 since 2002 and only their second knockout round victory in program history.

The American men’s best result at the World Cup was a third-place finish at the inaugural tournament all the way in 1930.

The U.S. team had been impressive in the 2026 tournament, finishing the group stage with a 2-1 record, with wins over Paraguay and Australia before a loss to Turkey, which occurred once the team had already secured a spot in the next round.

ABC News’ Kelly McCarthy and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.