Belgium coach Rudi Garcia has claimed that his team have gained 'millions and millions' of new supporters after Donald Trump lobbied Fifa to overturn Folarin Balogun's red card before their victory against the USA in the last 16. Garcia said they will take 'incredible strength' from that support in their quarter-final against Spain. He also insisted he has faith in his team, even though 'everyone thinks we are going home'. Garcia noted that when Romelu Lukaku is introduced, opponents 'quake in their boots'.
Trump's intervention and Balogun's red card saga
Trump boasted that he had phoned Fifa to get Balogun's punishment put on hold after the direct red card he was shown against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite Fifa's unprecedented decision to suspend the striker's ban for a year, Belgium defeated the USA 4-1. At full-time, the Belgium football federation's social media accounts declared 'overturn this' and players celebrated by parodying Trump's dance style. Garcia confirmed he had spoken to Balogun, telling him he could not be blamed for Trump's lobbying or Fifa's willingness to cede to it.
Belgium's readiness for Spain
The victory means Belgium will take the USA's place against Spain at Los Angeles Stadium, with the immense majority of the 80,000-capacity ground likely to be occupied by American supporters. Garcia insisted that, far from fearing a hostile reception, his team were ready – stronger and more popular than before. 'The conditions will only be as difficult as they were in the round of 16,' Garcia said. 'We had 12 million Belgium fans and now, over the last few days, I think we have millions and millions behind us; they have joined our ranks and I think that will be great. I think that will give us incredible strength.'
'We know we are playing one of the favourites and we know the strength they have as individuals and as a collective, which has been the case for 15 or 20 years now,' Garcia added. 'They are the best when it comes to possession of the ball and we know that they have not conceded a goal but statistics are there to be broken and we will do what we can to score. If not, we will be sent packing. We are the second highest scoring team at the World Cup. Everyone is talking about us going home but we can do it.'
Lukaku's role and impact
Garcia joked that Lukaku was just pretending to be a substitute when actually he was going to start. The two men explained the role played by the country's all-time leading scorer after a season in which he was unable to start a single game for Napoli. 'We had lots of chats. When he comes on the opponents are quaking in their boots, they are much more worried,' Garcia said. Although the 33-year-old has started only one game at this tournament, he has scored three times and provided an assist. He is running at a goal for every 50 minutes played, including one against the USA, and his total with the national team is an astonishing 93 goals. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Ali Daei (Iran) and Sunil Chhetri (India) have more. Lukaku has scored at a faster rate internationally than Ronaldo and Messi.
Lukaku said: 'I had a chat with the coach in April and he said I had to be prepared for a certain role. I said 'OK' and here we are. Everything is going well and we are going to continue like this. We are well prepared physically, mentally and tactically. I know that I am in this situation because this has been a very hard year. The coach visited me and we talked for two hours. I know my role for this tournament. It would be crazy, having played just 64 minutes [for Napoli] to start every game. It would be self-destructive. It is all about the team. I have to play with my head as well. If you get this far you're not going to just play to go home. We need to play the perfect game tomorrow.'
