USA striker Folarin Balogun has admitted that FIFA's controversial decision to allow him to play against Belgium had an effect on the team before their limp World Cup exit. Balogun, 25, had been sent off in the previous round against Bosnia and Herzegovina and was set to miss the clash in Seattle. But on the eve of the last-16 tie, FIFA made the unprecedented decision to suspend his one-game ban for a year, allowing the former Arsenal striker to play.
Trump's intervention and controversy
United States President Donald Trump revealed that he had called FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a bid to get the decision overturned. Infantino and FIFA insist that the decision—allegedly made without full consultation of FIFA's disciplinary committee—was not influenced by Trump. Unfortunately for co-hosts USA, Balogun could not prevent a miserable 4-1 defeat that ended their tournament run.
Speaking on CBS Mornings, the Monaco star opened up about being at the centre of the drama. "My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team. But when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy," Balogun admitted.
Impact on teammates and preparation
"And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it's something that is so unique. But 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 added. He also said: "It was confusing because the team was practicing without me in the team, I'm almost just playing a supporting role to keep morale high."
The 25-year-old was on the bus with his teammates when he learned the news that he would be available, seen as a huge boost for manager Mauricio Pochettino. Balogun had scored two goals in three games ahead of the clash with Belgium and had been rested by Pochettino for the USA's final group stage match.
Focus and performance
He went on to say: "It's more [about] being able to separate the emotion from the job at hand—we're all professionals so it's not something I think was too difficult to be able to separate once we got over the initial announcement that I'd be back in the team." "But you saw definitely it was a difficult game against Belgium and that can overshadow whether we were focused or not. But from me being inside the camp and inside the setup, I know we had full concentration going into the game."
