Folarin Balogun explained how the suspension controversy impacted the USMNT's mentality

The U.S. men's national team played its first four matches of the World Cup with the kind of confidence and poise that frankly we had never seen from the USMNT on that stage. And then, the Belgium match served as a massive crashing down to Earth in the Round of 16.

Folarin Balogun believed that the controversy over his rescinded suspension played a role.

The USMNT striker joined CBS on Tuesday morning for an interview to look back on the World Cup run. Balogun — who just announced a move to Klutch Sports — was asked about the controversy that included Donald Trump urging FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the questionable red card.

Balogun said that he was initially excited to be back in the squad, but he was able to sense the nerves among his teammates as it became a global story.

Folarin Balogun on Donald Trump’s intervention in getting his World Cup ban suspended on @CBSMornings: “I knew it was gonna cause a lot of controversy. I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves… I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult with a… pic.twitter.com/ZHzYD7Z6u4

— Melissa Reddy (@MelissaReddy_) July 14, 2026

Balogun said:

"My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team. But when I started to reflect, I knew it was gonna cause a lot of controversy. I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves."

Though FIFA framed the decision as something reached by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, it turned out that the chairman made the decision without consulting the other members of the board.

Balogun ended up starting for the USMNT, and an emboldened Belgium dominated the match, 4-1.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Folarin Balogun explained how the suspension controversy impacted the USMNT's mentality