Members of the U.S. Men’s National Team were quick to celebrate the news that star striker Folarin Balogun would be available for Monday’s match against Belgium — once they realized the story wasn’t a fake-out created using Artificial Intelligence.
As The New York Post reported, defender Chris Richards said that the team was heading to Husky Soccer Stadium on the bus when they got the news — and that at first, they were not at all sure what to make of it.
Chris Richards tells @JennyTaft the vibes are up for the USMNT after hearing about Flo Balogun’s suspension being lifted pic.twitter.com/WeCcD1wATY
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 5, 2026
“To be fair, we were lit on the bus regardless. We had our speaker in the back listening to music,” he added. “Then one person said something, another person said the same thing and nobody wanted to confirm it. It was pretty much right when we got here that we found out it was true … a lot of us thought it was AI at first.”
But then Balogun boarded the bus — all smiles because he’d already been told that his one-match suspension had been suspended in favor of a probationary period — and it became apparent that he was going to be allowed to play.
Midfield and forward Christian Pulisic also reacted to the good news, saying, “I just saw a big smile on his face. I got to see him and dap him up after that. Knowing we’re gonna have him around tomorrow, it helps so much. It’s a big boost.”
Pulisic also noted that the lineup for Monday’s game against Belgium had not yet been adjusted to accommodate Balogun’s expected absence, explaining that the team would not be scrambling to rearrange things now that he could play.
“Of course you have other guys filling in and trying to figure out what the lineup could look like, but we didn’t have anything set. It’s not like some crazy adjustment we need to make,” he said.
The United States is set to play Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday, July 6.
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