Soccer
USA need to ignore the controversy and concentrate on World Cup momentum
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With Canada and Mexico now eliminated from the 2026 World Cup , the responsibility is on the US national team to keep North America going at 'their tournament'.
Having seen Morocco dispatch the Canadians and England's heroic elimination of Mexico, it's the USA's turn to see if they can make it to the last eight as they take on Belgium tonight.
The build-up to the game has been marred by controversy due to the FIFA decision on star striker Florian Balogun, almost flipping the narrative on the USMNT from outside the country, so can Mauricio Pochettino put that to one side and lead his side to a quarter-final berth?
Pochettino: Fair decision made on Balogun's overturned suspension
Balogun in or out
There's no doubt that the red card received by Balogun against Bosnia-Herzegovina was a harsh one, and the call has been questioned by many since the striker got his marching orders.
However, in an unprecedented decision, FIFA has waived the suspension, allowing Balogun to play against Belgium, despite there being no appeal process in a World Cup tournament.
The reports of US President Donald Trump being involved and the rights and wrongs of the turnaround have come under scrutiny, but what it has done has made the US the 'bad guys' in the process through no real fault of their own.
So far, fans have been swept by the co-hosts' run to the last 16, but for the first time, they will have some noise around the game, thanks to a call that was outside of their remit.
Thankfully, being a home tournament, the noise inside the stadium will be positive, and can allow Mauricio Pochettino to ignore the interruption in the build-up, and try to focus on matching the US's best modern finish from 2002.
Yet, what the lift in suspension will do is put undue pressure on his striker. His role is deemed so important that it's brought a never-before-seen decision and the involvement of world leaders, so the onus is on him to deliver but also to take on the backlash that might come with it.
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Beating the Belgians
How involved Balogun is in the game remains to be seen, but the US will be confident that they can turn over Belgium, despite a recent disappointing performance against them.
The pair met in a friendly in March, where the European side had too much quality and beat the US 5-2. While the last World Cup meeting in 2014 also saw victory for the Belgians.
This, though, is a different arena; it's the US's arena in Seattle, and they are a side who have impressed in all but the irrelevant game against Turkey.
Arguably more than Belgium, who were five minutes from going out of the competition until a late show against Senegal that somehow turned their Round of 32 game around.
It looks and feels like the last innings of the nation's 'Golden Generation ', and the next crop in line doesn't seem quite ready to reach the same levels.
They still like to keep the ball, and Youri Tielemans plays a big role in their possession game, but there is a weakness they can exploit.
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Use the speed
As we saw against Senegal, Belgium struggled to cope with the width that the African side used in their attack - and it's something the US can replicate.
By quickly getting the ball to their wingers and creating overloads from full-back positions, they can carve open the Belgians and create chances for Balogun.
The US are perhaps best equipped to exploit this, given the speed at the back with Serge Dest and Antonee Robinson in wing-back areas.
If they can catch Belgium and feed Balogun and Christian Pulisic, America's difference makers, then they could see themselves progress once again.
The national team's performances thus far have really captured the country's sporting attention. For a country that loves victory and 'believes that it can win', the US side is showing they have the chance to really make history.
If they can ignore what's happened in the background and concentrate on the task in hand, then the World Cup American dream and continue it's course to the last eight.
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