While absolutely anything and everything is political, we’ll try to keep this very important first point as apolitical as possible. You can’t be against birthright citizenship, and rooting the United States Men’s National Team. That’s because the USMNT leading scorer, Folarin Balogun, is only an American international due to birthright citizenship. Exactly 25 years ago, today, July 3rd, 2001, he was born in Brooklyn, New York. And the reason he was born here?
His mother was deemed by airline staff to be too pregnant to board the airplane.
Build the statue of the flight attendant that wouldn’t let Baloguns mom on the flight
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DYdjtPghUo
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) July 2, 2026
World Cup Round of 16
USMNT vs Belgium
Kickoff: Monday July 6th, Seattle 7pm CST (yes, the best time zone in the whole wide world!)
Broadcast: regular OTA FOX on TV, FOX One and FOX Sports apps, streaming on Tubi
USMNT Preview Material: Team News Predicted Starting XIs for Both Sides
Current FIFA Ranking: Belgium #9 USMNT #16
Google’s Result Probability (90 Min): Belgium win 36% Draw 28% USA win 36%
USMNT Team News vs Belgium
Just think, Balogun is turning 25 exactly one day before America itself turns 250. Man, this stuff just writes itself!
As you obviously know by now, Balogun got red-carded last time out, in the 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was a controversial call, to say the least, as we literally saw Lionel Messi do pretty much the same thing Flo Balogun did, and the Argentinian was not reprimanded in any way possible. But hey, double standards, am I right?
You can also call them Bosnia and HerzegoVARnia, as the VAR kept working in their favor for that match, nixing not just one, but two American goals due to the offsides rule.
Balogun is obviously suspended for this match, due to that red card, which cannot be appealed.
However, he would conceivably be back for the quarterfinals, should the Stars and Stripes prevail here. The only other selection issue here is reserve player Mark McKenzie, who remains sidelined with an unspecified issue that is being labeled “a knock.”
Although “a knock” is often a good way to tell you something, but at the same time, tell you absolutely nothing.
2014 Rematch, Revenge
You might remember the last time that these two sides met, competitively, in 2014. Like this match, it was in the round of 16, and it saw Belguim escape with a 2-1 added extra time victory. It is mostly remembered though for Tim Howard standing on his head, as he setting a single-game World Cup record for saves (16) that still stands today.
He even received congratulatory phone calls from both the President and the Secretary of Defense afterward.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.