Adding insult to injury after an embarrassing exit from the World Cup this week, the United States Men’s National Team will be forced to share half of the earnings from their run with their counterparts on the Women’s National Team.
The men’s team secured $16 million in prize money from FIFA after their run to the World Cup’s round of 16. Despite not playing a single minute of soccer, members of the women’s team will <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49301582/us-men-women-get-equal-split-16m-world-cup-prize">take home</a> just as much money as the men’s team thanks to an “equal pay” agreement put in place by U.S. Soccer back in 2022. 
After U.S. Soccer takes 20% of the prize money, the rest will be distributed evenly between the 26 members on each of the rosters of the men’s and the women’s teams, meaning each player will be paid about $246,000. The money won’t be paid out to the women’s team until they qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. 
“So you&#8217;re telling me the men go out and earn while the women stay at home,” Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro said in reaction to the news. 
The “equal pay” agreement was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-a-huge-win-megan-rapinoe-brags-after-u-s-womens-soccer-team-settles-pay-discrimination-lawsuit-for-24-million">put in place</a> in 2022 after years of complaints by the women’s soccer team, which became known for antics including refusal to respect the National Anthem and stunts targeting President Donald Trump. 
That agreement came after a lawsuit from players on the women&#8217;s team alleging pay discrimination by the U.S. Soccer Federation. To settle the suit, U.S. Soccer agreed that prize money from the World Cup would be divided evenly among players on both rosters. 
Historically, the men’s World Cup competition has generated billions of dollars more in revenue than the women’s World Cup. The 2026 World Cup is expected to bring in over $13 billion in revenue, while the last women’s World Cup in 2023 generated roughly $580 million. 
Though the Women’s National Team has had more relative on-the-field success than the men’s team, its on- and off-the-field antics have brought criticism. Several members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team knelt during the national anthem at several matches in 2020 and early 2021, while longtime team captain Megan Rapinoe had previously done so while representing the U.S. in the 2016 Olympics.
In 2019, Megan Rapinoe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megan-rapinoe-slammed-after-ignoring-national-amanda-prestigiacomo">described</a> herself as a “walking protest when it comes to the Trump administration.”
“So it’s kind of a good ‘F you’ to any sort of inequality or bad sentiments that the [Trump] administration might have towards people who don’t look exactly like him,” she said in one interview.

USA v Belgium: Round of 16 – FIFA World Cup 2026

Team USA Forced To Share Half Of World Cup Prize Money With Women’s Team

Men's soccer

Soccer

Women's Soccer

World Cup

New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani found a new victim to champion this week: the Egyptian national soccer team.
The mayor, never one to pass up a grievance, used his own press event for a bus-speed initiative to sneak in a jab at the World Cup, repeatedly claiming the Egyptian national soccer team got cheated in its loss to Argentina.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨🇦🇷 NEW: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says that Egypt were “robbed” in yesterday’s World Cup game against Argentina <a href="https://t.co/bigWXCN04q">pic.twitter.com/bigWXCN04q</a>
— Politics Global (@PolitlcsGlobal) <a href="https://x.com/PolitlcsGlobal/status/2074877119708987839?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The backstory: Argentina staged a stunner of a comeback Tuesday, erasing a 2-0 deficit in the final 15 minutes to beat Egypt 3-2, with Enzo Fernández heading home the winner in the 92nd minute off a Messi-orchestrated night that also saw the Argentine superstar convert a second-half equalizer. Egypt led thanks to goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko — but Ziko&#8217;s earlier goal was wiped out by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the 58th minute for a foul in the buildup.
Egypt&#8217;s manager, Hossam Hassan, set the tone postgame, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/8/egypt-criticises-influential-refereeing-in-argentina-world-cup-match">insisting</a> the whole match felt &#8220;influential&#8221; and complaining that a penalty claim went unchecked while Egypt&#8217;s goal got the microscope treatment.
The Egyptian Football Association has since filed a formal complaint with FIFA.
Mamdani, apparently unable to resist a good grievance narrative even when it&#8217;s 6,000 miles from Gracie Mansion, jumped on the bandwagon a day later — mixing his bus-lane victory lap with a nod to Egypt&#8217;s &#8220;injustice.&#8221;
Here&#8217;s the problem: the evidence doesn&#8217;t back him up.
Multiple soccer analysts who&#8217;ve broken down the replay say the disallowed goal was correct by the letter of the law — Egyptian midfielder Marwan Attia tugged the shirt of Argentine defender Lisandro Martínez and stepped on his foot while winning the ball that launched the counterattack, making it a legitimate reviewable phase of play under VAR protocol. That&#8217;s not a phantom call — that&#8217;s a foul.
Later in the contest, with the score level at 2-2, Mohamed Salah <a href="https://www.india.com/sports/fifa-world-cup-2026-were-egypt-robbed-in-their-ro16-loss-to-argentina-var-controversies-explained-8468835/">tumbled</a> to the ground in the penalty area following a challenge from Nicolas Tagliafico. The referee opted to let play continue; VAR declined to step in, which meant Argentina could launch an attack that ended with Enzo Fernandez heading home a stunning 92nd-minute winner. Replays of the incident suggested Salah went down rather easily, with only minimal contact — Tagliafico&#8217;s challenge connected with the ball first, not his opponent&#8217;s feet.
And the larger story of the match wasn&#8217;t a stolen goal — it was a genuine, jaw-dropping Argentina comeback. Down 2-0 with under 40 minutes left against a team that had gone unbeaten through the tournament, the defending champs scored three unanswered goals in a 14-minute span, with Messi at the center of it after missing a first-half penalty. That&#8217;s not officials handing Argentina a trophy — that&#8217;s the two-time champs refusing to go home against the tournament&#8217;s Cinderella story.
None of that has stopped the pile-on. Egypt&#8217;s coach, its federation, and now New York&#8217;s mayor are all singing from the same &#8220;we were robbed&#8221; songbook — despite the tape showing a legal foul call and a legitimately incredible comeback.
Mamdani built a career on playing the underdog card. Turns out he&#8217;s happy to play it for a soccer team on another continent, too — evidence be damned.

Midtown Manhattan Buildings Evacuated After Collapse Warning

Mamdani Plays Victim Card, Says Egypt Was ‘Robbed’ In World Cup Defeat

Egypt

Zohran Mamdani

The face of the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT), Christian Pulisic, received serious criticism over comments he made after his disappointing 2026 World Cup performance.
During a post-game interview after the 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16, the star player often dubbed &#8220;Captain America&#8221; made a comment to <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2074341334861639898">Fox Sports</a> that set many off: “I sprained my ankle. It’s frustrating to end like that of course, but now I can get time to rest, so hopefully it’ll be okay.&#8221;
Pulisic was injured at the end of the first half in the opening game against Paraguay, leaving him to sit out the ensuing match against Australia. He suited up for the following three games but failed to score any goals.
Critics were unimpressed that Pulisic highlighted the U.S. team&#8217;s final-game loss as a positive, spinning it as more time to &#8220;rest.&#8221; Paired with his own lackluster performance, the remark sent shockwaves across social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
You rest when your playing career is over. Period.
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) <a href="https://x.com/CarliLloyd/status/2074684312738468299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
He rested the entire World Cup. <a href="https://t.co/FwBr3Oy7zp">https://t.co/FwBr3Oy7zp</a>
— Sydney Leroux (@sydneyleroux) <a href="https://x.com/sydneyleroux/status/2074539612467298562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The two women’s thoughts on Pulisic were shared by many across the country, including former USMNT members Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, who appear on the “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast together.
Donovan, who admitted to playing poorly himself in the 2006 World Cup, jabbed at Pulisic, saying he had failed to give it his all in the moment it counted most.
“The reality is, he came out of a World Cup knockout game at home, with his leg still intact. Because you would have had to f*cking drag me off the field,” he said to Howard and viewers. “And I would have punched the doctor in the face and said ‘You’re not taking me off the field. Put whatever you need to put in me, and I’m staying on the field.’”
“I hope for his sake he isn’t on social media for the foreseeable future,” Howard added.
The criticism Pulisic is facing was not an opinion that formed overnight. His post-game comment was just the tipping point that set former players off after several lackluster performances of late.
In the first half of their final game, Pulisic lost possession 11 separate times — the most of any player in the first 45 minutes of the game. He injured his ankle before Belgium’s third goal, at which point he exited the match. From the beginning of 2026 up until the World Cup training started, he had zero goal contributions in league play.
He also sat out of the Gold Cup tournament and infamously called this World Cup &#8220;just another big tournament.&#8221;
It is hard to pinpoint the exact moment it began to all fall apart for Pulisic, but the U.S. soccer fanbase appears to have turned on the man they once called &#8220;Captain America.&#8221;

Team USA’s ‘Captain America’ Sparks Backlash After Disappointing World Cup

FIFA

Sports

Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady joked Tuesday that Egypt&#8217;s stunning World Cup collapse against Argentina may have surpassed the infamous &#8220;28-3&#8221; comeback from Super Bowl LI. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Yeah so that might top 28-3 🤯
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) <a href="https://x.com/TomBrady/status/2074554217361010904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
Brady took to social media minutes after Argentina rallied from a 2-0 deficit late in the second half to defeat Egypt 3-2 and advance to the World Cup quarterfinals. 
&#8220;Yeah so that might top 28-3,&#8221; Brady joked.
Brady’s reference to &#8220;28-3&#8221; is a nod to the Patriots&#8217; comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit against the Falcons, the largest comeback in Super Bowl history and Brady&#8217;s fifth Super Bowl win. 
Argentina entered the match as the favorite, but Egypt struck first just 15 minutes in, with Yasser Ibrahim scoring. The Egyptians carried a 1-0 lead into halftime before appearing to put the match away when Mostafa Zico scored after an earlier goal had been disallowed. 
On the brink of elimination, Argentina scored three times between the 79th minute and stoppage time. Cristian Romero began the comeback before Lionel Messi tied the match and Enzo Fernández scored the game-winner in the second minute of added time. 
The Egyptian collapse immediately drew comparisons to some of the biggest blown leads in sports history, including the Atlanta Falcons&#8217; infamous loss to Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. 
Brady&#8217;s post suggests Egypt&#8217;s collapse could rank alongside, or even surpass, the Falcons&#8217; meltdown as one of sports&#8217; greatest blown leads.  
The score &#8220;28-3&#8221; has become shorthand for spectacular collapses in sports and is often cited whenever a team &#8220;chokes&#8221; and squanders a seemingly insurmountable lead. Coincidentally, the match between Egypt and Argentina took place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Falcons.

TOPSHOT-AMFOOT-NFL-SUPERBOWL

Tom Brady Compares Stunning World Cup Collapse To Infamous ’28-3′ Comeback

Celebrities

Tom Brady

U.S.

This is republished with permission from the author. The original, from <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/">House of Strauss</a>, can be found <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/why-we-still-suck-at-soccer-and-always">here</a>.
***
Belgium has about 12 million people and the United States has 350 million. This shouldn’t be a fair fight and it wasn’t: The Red Devils slaughtered the United States men’s national soccer team (again), doing the Trump dance to mock our impotent side on their home field. In gaining <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/the-trump-balogun-controversy-exposed">Balogun for Monday’s match</a>, the USA lost what could have been a failure-obscuring excuse.
So why are we back here, <a href="https://x.com/chuckfbass/status/2074313496506872266?s=46&amp;t=oGFkfjOaJhGL-HV3dqLoGQ">as we always are</a>? I wrote that soccer has <a href="https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/soccer-has-finally-actually-arrived">arrived in the United States</a>. While that may be so, the United States has not arrived at soccer.
The classic explanations don’t stand up to scrutiny as catch-alls either. You hear <a href="https://x.com/stoolpresidente/status/2074303534472847367">the problem is that our best athletes play other sports</a>. That’s part of the issue, sure, but I also reject this as the skeleton key. We’ve <a href="https://sfia.medium.com/soccer-participation-on-the-rise-in-the-united-states-212d89795cb5">got more people playing soccer</a> than Belgium has total population. By some measures, we’ve got <a href="https://www.socceriqinstitute.com/post/the-rise-of-soccer-in-america-as-we-approach-the-2026-fifa-world-cup">three times</a> as many children playing soccer as Belgium has children in total. The U.S. should be able to field competitive teams despite losing athletes to football and basketball.
You hear we lack street ball culture, so our hard knocks kids grow up with hoop dreams rather than ambitions for the pitch. I believe that’s an outdated explanation, for reasons I’ll get into.
And, after looking into the matter, I’ve got some bad news. The reason we now can’t compete has evolved. Even if you magically made the sport 10x more popular here among the youth, we’d have the same obstacle. In this country, it’s the generation gap in soccer avidity that’s killed us and continues to kill us.
America has the kids to compete on a world stage. We just happen to lack the adults. Put another way, though “soccer mom” became this omnipresent meme of the 1990s, the reason we struggle is our relative dearth of soccer dads. And I don’t just mean actual, literal, biological fathers, though yes also them. I’m talking about dudes who grew up playing, know the game well, and pass on advice to the next generation.
Obviously more such Americans exist in 2026 than when I grew up, but we are perpetually going to suffer this generational lag, even as it lessens. Every year, an increasing amount of young Americans might become soccer converts, but every year, America will still maintain a gap between adult and youth soccer avidity. And the issue for us is, in Europe, this generational chasm doesn’t exist. Grownups and kids are united in their fixation on the game.
There’s a lot of romance about how both basketball and soccer are incubated in the streets, where children learn the game’s poetry prior to sentience. I’m not saying this stopped happening, but these sports have gone through an optimization process at the youth levels. As you probably know, so many rising pro basketball players are upper class now, and/or <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/30/heir-ball-how-the-cost-of-youth-sports-is-changing-the-nba">the children of professional basketball players</a>. There’s this trope that if America’s “urban” population fell in love with soccer, we’d suddenly dominate. But given the new path dependencies, it’s just not so simple.
It’s been argued that Brazilian soccer dominance was based on “street-style creativity,” an advantage that’s dissipated over the last couple decades. Pre-Internet, sports innovation and progress used to be more organic. I’m reminded of Isiah Thomas just <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOZHycUOJrw">developing his own basketball drills</a> and moves as a kid growing up in Chicago.
Greatness isn’t found on the pickup courts now, like some future supermodel getting discovered at the grocery store. It’s cultivated, early on, by obsessive adults. The compounding soccer advantage in Europe over America is more obsessive adults per capita who then funnel kids into feeder systems that involve professionally obsessive adults.
This is what we can’t replicate. When a lack of “football culture,” is bemoaned, people are often referring to a sport’s overall popularity, sometimes with a focus on what kids are into. But a lack of culture can refer to an absence of transferred generational knowledge. This is a sad story for America, but also one I like, in a way. I’m heartened by the idea of an older generation helping the next succeed.
In that vein, let’s look at the background of a few international football superstars in this World Cup.
Erling Haaland: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alf-Inge_Haaland">Father</a> Alf-Inge was a famous EPL pro.
Kylian Mbappé: Father Wilfrid is a former regional footballer who coached at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AS_Bondy">AS Bondy football club</a> for 20 years.
Jude Bellingham: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bellingham">Father Mark</a> was a “prolific” non-league player, who scored over 700 goals in his career.
Michael Olise: Here, the pattern is broken because Michael’s father, Vincent, wasn’t a former footballer. Instead, he was an <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/1uo1djl/french_football_star_michael_olises_father/">international cricket player</a> who was obsessed with making his kids great at soccer.
Lamine Yamal: Lamine breaks the pattern because his dad has no sports connection beyond vigorously supporting his son’s journey, but that’s where FC Barcelona steps in. The legendary Spanish club signed the 18-year-old phenom back in 2014. Yamal has humble origins, but I believe he actually illustrates the fallacy in thinking that a newly prevalent “<a href="https://x.com/shipwreckedcrew/status/2074367581532954775?s=46">pickup soccer</a>” culture will solve our American problem. Barca discovered Yamal when he was playing for a club at age six. Lamine Yamal didn’t grow up freely playing the game on the streets; he played soccer, organized by adults, well before he grew up.
Speaking of Barcelona and Yamal, one narrative following this World Cup loss is that <a href="https://x.com/ClayTravis/status/2074332074077479043">the game is too expensive for American parents</a>. In Europe, teams bear much of the cost for development, whereas in America, parents spend many thousands on youth sports. Incentives are aligned to help talent over there. To <a href="https://x.com/aakashgupta/status/2074387188079595648">quote one commentator</a>:
<blockquote>
In Germany, a talented 14-year-old earns his club money. In America, his parents pay the club $15,000 a year.
</blockquote>
This is certainly an element that helps explain the soccer gap. I’d also add that the Euro clubs are pretty ruthless in the pursuit of elevating talent. Europe might have a rep for going on “holiday” rather than grinding in the capitalist rat race, but boy are they bottom-line Darwinian about the product they care about most. Star England striker Harry Kane <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/tottenham-striker-harry-kane-reveals-why-arsenal-gave-up-on-him-a3114856.html">was cut from Arsenal</a> at age 9 for being fat. In the U.S., clubs are incentivized to keep lagging kids involved so long as their parents have cash.
The counterargument to the USA “pay for play” problem comes from <a href="https://x.com/darrenrovell/status/2074482629454217686?s=46&amp;t=oGFkfjOaJhGL-HV3dqLoGQ">Darren Rovell</a> and it’s a good point:
<blockquote>
The game that we are actually world-class at — ice hockey — at top youth levels costs double soccer.
</blockquote>
That’s true, but Americans are also, relative to nations other than Canada, hockey-knowledgeable. As in: We have the dads.
“I did okay”
I’ve arrived at my theories on this subject through the most scientific of processes: Watching YouTube clips of famous footballers discussing their journeys. The most poignant example is Clint Dempsey, perhaps our best ever player (especially considering Christian Pulisic’s Monday flameout), emotionally reflecting on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S9d2TJXYZ3c">how he could have been better</a>.
Dempsey grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas, and wonders what might have been if he were somewhere else. In conversation with Thierry Henry, Dempsey says:
<blockquote>
I wish I’d a’ had someone like you, a coach, who could have helped me more. I had great coaches, they helped, but like, a coach that you had, something like that. What could I really done. I did okay. You know what I’m saying? But not like..(gestures to Henry).
</blockquote>
There’s something just so painfully wistful about Dempsey’s “I did okay.” Later he says, “I’m at peace,” but you can sense he isn’t. He defied the odds, but it clearly eats at Clint that knowledge, as opposed to talent, held him back. But what could Dempsey do? There was an absence of soccer-knowledgeable adults in rural Texas.
Let’s contrast his journey with that of his French conversation partner. Thierry Henry likes to tell a story about the coach who unlocked his potential. Not only was Henry’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Henry">father an obsessive soccer dad</a>, but Thierry acquired the right training at the right time. At INF Clairefontaine academy, Henry was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9UqGt8pLbX4">commanded to not use his speed for scoring</a>, even though it was his dominant attribute. That bit of guidance set him on the path to all-time greatness.
In summary, Europe dominates us at this sport with two large advantages: A culture of adult-led cultivation, feeding into academies that benefit the world’s best teams. I just don’t understand how we can, as presently constructed, disrupt Europe’s edge over us. Even as more of us become soccer-heads, they’re compounding the advantage with a newer superior generation building on the older superior generation.
We have the money. We have the athletes. We now have the interest. What we lack is generational connective tissue, and I have no clue how we’d ever acquire it on a level that allows us to beat our Euro foes. I should believe in this nation. We’ve accomplished a great many things and continue to. But even though we put a man on the moon, I’m losing faith that we can ever put the ball in the net.
I’ll close with this. There’s a massive, fancy soccer hub near where I live, called the <a href="https://copastc.com/media-kit/">COPA Soccer Training Center</a>. Parents of local soccer prodigies know it well. It’s a “90,000–117,000 sq ft facility with multiple training zones,” and I was blown away by the place when visiting for a kids’ birthday party. This expansive, modern interior is a testament to American wealth and recent will to finally succeed on the world stage. Plenty of kids use the training center. That part is taken care of. But does it have the adults?
Related: Would it occur to Europeans that they should make money off such a place as weekend kids’ birthday party setting? I’d assume the Euros would view this side hustle like generations prior would have regarded playing soccer in a church.
***
Ethan Strauss is the creator of the Substack House of Strauss. He is a former NBA PR gopher, basketblogger, and NBA beat writer.

Father and son train and play in a soccer field.

America Doesn’t Need Soccer Moms, We Need Soccer Dads

DW Opinion

youth sports

American soccer star Folarin Balogun has been cleared once again to suit up on Monday night against Belgium as the European country&#8217;s effort to keep the U.S. striker sidelined was shot down by the FIFA Appeal Committee.
The FIFA committee ruled that Belgium&#8217;s appeal of the decision to overturn Balogun&#8217;s one-game suspension was &#8220;inadmissible&#8221; since Belgium was &#8220;not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,&#8221; The Athletic <a href="https://x.com/AdamCrafton_/status/2074172435750850880">reported</a>. Belgium said it could still pursue other actions to contest Balogun&#8217;s eligibility for Monday night&#8217;s round of 16 showdown, but for now, the Belgians will have to accept the reality they&#8217;ll likely be facing America at full strength.
“The [Royal Belgian Football Association] has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open,&#8221; Belgium&#8217;s soccer bosses wrote after the appeal was rejected.
The Royal Belgian Football Association also complained that it &#8220;has still not received any grounds for&#8221; FIFA&#8217;s decision to overturn Balogun&#8217;s one-game suspension. The U.S. star was given a red card during Team USA&#8217;s round of 32 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina when he collided with an opposing defender and his cleats caught the back of the defender&#8217;s ankle. The referee did not dish out the red card until after he used replay assist to revisit the incident. With a red card, Balogun was also ruled ineligible to play in America&#8217;s round of 16 game, according to FIFA rules.
Shortly after a phone call between President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, however, FIFA overturned Balogun&#8217;s suspension on Sunday, sparking outrage among European soccer elites.
“I didn’t tell [Infantino] what to do,” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-describes-his-call-with-fifa-president-before-last-minute-decision-on-u-s-suspension?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Describes+His+Call+With+FIFA+President+Before+Last-Minute+Decision+On+U.S.+Suspension">said</a> on Monday. “I can’t tell him what to do, and I don’t believe he made the decision. I believe it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.”
The referee who gave Balogun a red card is suspected of using replay assist improperly and slowing down the speed of the video that showed the collision between the U.S. star and the player from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The White House put together a team of elite lawyers to look into challenging soccer officials’ use of replay review, OutKick founder Clay Travis reported.
European soccer leaders blasted FIFA after the suspension reversal, claiming the decision hurts the &#8220;integrity&#8221; of the game.
“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,&#8221; the Union of European Football Associations wrote. &#8220;Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.”
The United States takes on Belgium at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday.

USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina: Round Of 32 – FIFA World Cup 2026

Belgium Shot Down On Appeal To Keep U.S. Star Sidelined As Europe’s Tantrum Falls Short

Belgium

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he &#8220;relayed&#8221; to FIFA President Gianni Infantino that there would have been &#8220;a big stain&#8221; on the World Cup if U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun was forced to sit out of the team&#8217;s game on Monday.
During a gaggle with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump went into more detail about his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-thanks-fifa-for-reversing-great-injustice-as-european-rivals-rage-at-world-cup?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+Thanks+FIFA+For+Reversing+%E2%80%99Great+Injustice%E2%80%99+As+European+Rivals+Rage+At+World+Cup">phone call</a> with Infantino, which took place just before FIFA announced that Balogun could suit up for Team USA&#8217;s Monday night round of 16 match against Belgium.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t tell [Infantino] what to do,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I can&#8217;t tell him what to do, and I don&#8217;t believe he made the decision. I believe it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.&#8221;
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled,&#8221; Trump said of the on-field incident last week that resulted in Balogun&#8217;s red card, which was only handed out after a video review.
Balogun was handed a red card and one-game suspension after he made contact with a defender for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the U.S. star’s cleat scraped the back of the defender’s ankle. &#8220;That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different,&#8221; Trump added.
&#8220;I think the referee&#8217;s call was horrible,&#8221; the president continued. &#8220;Nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it&#8217;s fine. The referee&#8217;s decision to red card — I didn&#8217;t know what the hell a red card was — when I found out I said you&#8217;ve gotta be kidding. &#8230; Okay, your best player is not going to play next game. I said, wow that&#8217;s a lot of power. That&#8217;s terrible.&#8221;
FIFA&#8217;s decision on Sunday to overturn Balogun&#8217;s suspension caused outrage among European soccer elites, including from Belgium. The country&#8217;s soccer officials said they were &#8220;astonished&#8221; by the reversal, and Belgium&#8217;s coach Rudi Garcia blasted FIFA. Belgium also <a href="https://x.com/BrentScher/status/2073898775257530664" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> “lawyered up” to fight FIFA’s decision to overturn Balogun’s suspension, and on Monday, Belgium was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/seeing-red-belgium-granted-appeal-after-europe-cries-over-american-suspension-reversal">granted</a> the right to appeal FIFA&#8217;s decision to allow the U.S. star to play.
A decision on Belgium’s appeal could be handed down before the game between the United States and Belgium starts at 8:00 p.m. ET, but Belgium was not guaranteed that a ruling would come from FIFA before the game, The Athletic reported.
FIFA reversed Balogun’s suspension after the White House put together a team of elite lawyers to look into challenging soccer officials’ use of replay review in determining Balogun’s red card last week, Outkick founder Clay Travis reported.
The United States is looking for just its second berth into the World Cup quarterfinals in its history with a win against Belgium.

Donald Trump/U.S. Soccer

Trump Describes His Call With FIFA President Before Last-Minute Decision On U.S. Suspension

Donald Trump

The Belgian national team on Monday morning was granted the right to appeal FIFA&#8217;s last-minute decision to reverse a one-game suspension that had been imposed on U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun after he received a phantom red card in America&#8217;s round of 32 victory.
FIFA&#8217;s decision to overturn Balogun&#8217;s suspension on Sunday, which came after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-thanks-fifa-for-reversing-great-injustice-as-european-rivals-rage-at-world-cup?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+Thanks+FIFA+For+Reversing+%E2%80%99Great+Injustice%E2%80%99+As+European+Rivals+Rage+At+World+Cup">phone call</a> between President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, outraged the soccer elites of Belgium and other European nations. Belgium&#8217;s soccer officials <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/belgium-astonished-folarin-balogun-ruling-investigating-potential-options">said</a> they were &#8220;astonished.&#8221; Belgium soccer coach Rudi Garcia also took a shot at FIFA after the reversal.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know that in the FIFA offices the 5th of July corresponded to the 1st of April &#8230; it was a discovery for me,&#8221; Garcia <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/watch-vertical/fmc-8t88x881kprva0ge">said</a>.
Belgium also <a href="https://x.com/BrentScher/status/2073898775257530664">reportedly</a> &#8220;lawyered up&#8221; to fight FIFA&#8217;s decision to overturn Balogun&#8217;s suspension. After the outrage, Belgium was granted an appeal, which will ultimately leave it up to one member of the FIFA appeals committee to decide whether Balogun&#8217;s suspension should be upheld. A decision on Belgium&#8217;s appeal could be handed down before the game between the United States and Belgium starts at 7:00 p.m. ET, but Belgium was not guaranteed that a ruling would come from FIFA before the game, The Athletic reported.
The appeals committee member selected to hear the appeal is not a member of the European soccer association, UEFA, or of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football to ensure the appeals process is unbiased. The UEFA released a statement Monday morning, siding with Belgium, and blasting FIFA&#8217;s decision to allow Balogun to play Monday night.
&#8220;Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line,&#8221; UEFA wrote in a statement, adding, &#8220;When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.&#8221;
Norway&#8217;s coach Ståle Solbakken, whose team advanced to the quarterfinals on Sunday, also <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/05/sports/norway-coach-blasts-fifas-really-bad-folarin-balogun-decision/">ripped</a> FIFA over the decision.
“I think it is not a great conclusion. [Balogun] got a red card and the VAR concluded that it was a red card. He was sent off. That means you are suspended for one game,&#8221; Solbakken said. “I think what is really bad about that situation is it will be [hanging] over the United States now. Because if they beat Belgium, it will always have that extra thing about it. Maybe he scores a goal, maybe he plays a good game, and the Belgians will be furious.”
FIFA reversed Balogun&#8217;s suspension after the White House put together a team of elite lawyers to challenge soccer officials&#8217; use of replay review in determining Balogun&#8217;s red card last week, Outkick founder Clay Travis reported. Balogun was given a red card for his contact with a defender for Bosnia and Herzegovina after the referee used video replay to determine that the U.S. star&#8217;s cleat scraped the back of the defender&#8217;s ankle.
Trump also called FIFA&#8217;s president to better understand why a red card had been issued, but Trump did not push FIFA to overturn the suspension, according to Axios. During that phone call, Infantino informed Trump that a review of the red card had already begun.
America&#8217;s star player, who leads the team with three goals so far in the tournament, is preparing to play Monday night as the United States looks to advance to its second-ever quarterfinals. Team USA was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-team-lit-after-red-card-reversal-news-thought-it-was-ai-at-first?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=U.S.+Team+%E2%80%98Lit%E2%80%99+After+Red+Card+Reversal+News%3A+%E2%80%98Thought+It+Was+AI+At+First%E2%80%99">ecstatic</a> on Sunday after hearing the news that Balogun could play.

Seeing Red: Belgium Granted Appeal After Europe Cries Over American Suspension Reversal

Europe

Members of the U.S. Men&#8217;s National Team were quick to celebrate the news that star striker Folarin Balogun would be available for Monday&#8217;s match against Belgium — once they realized the story wasn&#8217;t a fake-out created using Artificial Intelligence.
As The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/05/sports/how-usmnt-players-reacted-to-folarin-balogun-news-on-bus-to-practice/">reported</a>, 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.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Chris Richards tells <a href="https://x.com/JennyTaft?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JennyTaft</a> the vibes are up for the USMNT after hearing about Flo Balogun&#8217;s suspension being lifted <a href="https://t.co/WeCcD1wATY">pic.twitter.com/WeCcD1wATY</a>
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://x.com/FOXSports/status/2073884412228649218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;To be fair, we were lit on the bus regardless. We had our speaker in the back listening to music,&#8221; he added. &#8220;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 &#8230; a lot of us thought it was AI at first.&#8221;
But then Balogun boarded the bus — all smiles because he&#8217;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, &#8220;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.&#8221;
Pulisic also noted that the lineup for Monday&#8217;s game against Belgium had not yet been adjusted to accommodate Balogun&#8217;s expected absence, explaining that the team would not be scrambling to rearrange things now that he could play.
&#8220;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,&#8221; he said.
The United States is set to play Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday, July 6.

USA v Paraguay: Group D – FIFA World Cup 2026

U.S. Team ‘Lit’ After Red Card Reversal News: ‘Thought It Was AI At First’

U.S. Team 'Lit' After Red Card Reversal News: 'Thought It Was AI At First'

President Donald Trump offered his thanks to FIFA — while Belgian officials fume and vow to evaluate &#8220;all potential options&#8221; — after the organization lifted a one-game suspension for U.S. star-striker Folarin Balogun.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to express his thanks, saying, &#8220;Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!&#8221;
A White House source confirmed to The Daily Wire that the president had made a call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino regarding the red card. Multiple reports suggested that during that call, Trump had informed Infantino that attorneys were preparing to challenge the use of slow-motion instant replay — which he said violated FIFA rules — and that the red card had been excessive.
Outkick founder Clay Travis said sources had told him that &#8220;President Trump, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, and White House task force head Andrew Giuliani put together a team of elite lawyers — from outside the government — to challenge the Flo Balogun red card.&#8221;
&#8220;Specifically they challenged the use of slow motion instant replay to give the red card, which they argued violated FIFA rules. The president also conveyed to Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, that the appeal had been filed and he believed the red card penalty was excessive,&#8221; he added. &#8220;FIFA’s independent committee reviewed the decision and agreed the penalty was incorrectly given, rescinding it under their rule 27 authority.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sources: President Trump, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, and White House task force head Andrew Giuliani put together a team of elite lawyers — from outside the government — to challenge the Flo Balogun red card. Specifically they challenged the use of slow motion instant…
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) <a href="https://x.com/ClayTravis/status/2073851719297945674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The rule in question states that the slow-motion replay is only to be used to determine facts — where players were at the time of the offense or how contact occurred — and not to judge the severity of the offense. That, the rule states, should be determined by a replay at normal speed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I am not entirely convinced this part of the VAR protocols was followed here. <a href="https://t.co/W3GI2h3gxC">pic.twitter.com/W3GI2h3gxC</a>
— Lars Sivertsen (@larssivertsen) <a href="https://x.com/larssivertsen/status/2072496315913675189?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The Royal Belgian Football Association registered its displeasure with the decision in a statement published on Sunday: &#8221;
FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.&#8221;
&#8220;However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team’s next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup,&#8221; the statement continued.
The precedent was already set at the beginning of World Cup play, when Portugal&#8217;s star player <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/05/sports/the-cristiano-ronaldo-precedent-that-changed-folarin-baloguns-red-card-fortunes/">Cristiano Ronaldo</a> had a suspension overturned in favor of a probationary period. Ronald, who was shown a red card and given a three-match suspension last November, only missed one match before FIFA suspended the remaining two-match ban, placing him on probation but allowing him to play in his team&#8217;s opening World Cup match.
The United States is set to play Belgium on Monday, July 6, in the Round of 16.

Trump Thanks FIFA For Reversing ’Great Injustice’ As European Rivals Rage At World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo

White House

A red card ban suspension freed star forward Folarin Balogun to play in the U.S. Men&#8217;s National Team&#8217;s next World Cup match against Belgium.
Balogun, 25, was initially supposed to sit out the 16th-round match due to a red card he received in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic. FIFA&#8217;s tournament rules (Article 10.5) state that a one-game suspension would automatically come with the red card — and the team was not allowed to appeal that decision.
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7423410/2026/07/05/usmnt-folarin-balogun-red-card-available/?eafs_enabled=false">The Athletic</a> reported on Sunday that Balogun may yet be allowed to play due to a provision in Article 27 of FIFA&#8217;s disciplinary code — a provision that states &#8220;the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.&#8221;
The one-game suspension that should have accompanied Balogun&#8217;s red card has been suspended — with one caveat: he risks not only the original suspension but also any sanctions that might be added onto that if he commits another similar infraction during the next match.
&#8220;If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement,&#8221; the regulation states.
U.S. Soccer released a statement reacting to the news, saying, &#8220;We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow. Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.&#8221;
Up to the current match, Balogun has started in all but one and has scored at least one goal in each match. He scored twice in the opening game against Paraguay.
Balogun is not the only World Cup star facing disciplinary issues, however. Portugal&#8217;s captain Cristiano Ronaldo was handed a three-match ban, but FIFA suspended the final two games of his suspension.

FIFA Overturns Ban On U.S. Soccer Star In Massive World Cup Boost For America

The short-handed United States Men&#8217;s National Team (USMNT) will attempt to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in more than two decades when it faces Belgium on Monday.
Team USA has not advanced beyond the Round of 16 at a World Cup since 2002. They are coming off their dominant 2-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which saw Folarin Balogun extend his lead in goals for the United States. However, he will not suit up for the red, white, and blue against Belgium.
Balogun picked up a controversial red card in the second half of the Round of 32 game after scoring a goal in the first 45 minutes. After Team USA was unable to appeal the red card, they will be forced to play without him in the upcoming game.
The USMNT will look past the controversial decision and will lean on players such as Christian Pulisic, Malik Tillman, and Weston McKennie.
Belgium, on the other hand, is coming off one of the craziest comebacks in the history of the World Cup. In their first knockout-stage game against Senegal, they were down 2-0 in the 85th minute. All-time leading goal scorer for the country, Romelu Lukaku, scored in the following minute, and was followed two minutes later by Youri Tielemans&#8217; tying goal.
After advancing to extra time, Tielemans scored the latest goal in World Cup history, converting a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time after the 120 mark.
The USMNT will also be seeking a measure of revenge against the Belgians after they eliminated the United States from the 2014 World Cup with a 2-1 extra-time win. Despite the loss, legendary goalkeeper Tim Howard had a historic match, setting the record for most saves in a single game with 16. The two Belgian goal scorers from that match, Kevin De Bruyne and Lukaku, are both expected to face the United States again on Monday.
If Team USA advances, it will face Spain or the winner of Thursday’s Croatia-Portugal match in the quarterfinals.
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