Striker says “it was difficult” to focus but refuses to put defeat down to lack of concentration
Folarin Balogun has admitted the decision to overturn his World Cup suspension caused a lot of outside noise that affected USA before their last-16 defeat to Belgium, despite his relief at being cleared to play.
The forward said he welcomed Fifa’s decision to make him available again but quickly realised the controversy surrounding the case would become a distraction in the build-up to the knockout tie.
“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team, but when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy, and I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves, because it is something that is so unique,” Balogun said.
“The closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult. A lot of outside noise and that’s hard to avoid.”
Balogun received a straight red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina after catching defender Tarik Muharemovic while challenging for a pass from Antonee Robinson. Referee Raphael Claus dismissed the striker for serious foul play after being advised by VAR to review the incident.
The sending off was supposed to be followed by a one-game ban, but Fifa unusually suspended the ban after appeals from US Soccer, even though there was no formal appeal process for such cases.
The decision sparked even further outrage after it became known that US President Donald Trump contacted Fifa president Gianni Infantino up to three times during the week to request a review.
However, Trump distanced himself from claims that he unduly influenced Fifa and Infantino.
“All I did was ask for a review,” Trump said. “I didn’t say, you have to do this. This man is a smart, tough man, Gianni Infantino. He’s a smart, tough man, and his stock has gone through the roof because the job he has done has been great. I feel like we have to have all the best players on the field.”
Balogun said the squad only discovered he had been reinstated while travelling to training.
“It was confusing because the team is practising without me being in the team,” Balogun said. “I’m almost just playing a supporting role to try and keep the morale high and then I think it was a day or two days before kick-off I get told I am back in the team. We found out on the team bus, everybody was screaming and shouting. It was a pretty intense bus ride to the practice field.”
USA were beaten 4-1 by Belgium, and while Balogun admitted it was difficult to focus with all the noise, he refused to blame it for their defeat.
“It was a difficult game against Belgium and that can kind of overshadow whether we were focused or not,” Balogun said. “From me being inside the camp and inside the setup, I know we had full concentration going into the game.”
