Soccer-Balogun starts for US after red card suspended


Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - United States Training - University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, U.S. - July 5, 2026 Folarin Balogun of the U.S. during training IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Blake Dahlin

July 6 (Reuters) - U.S. striker Folarin Balogun ⁠will start Monday's World Cup ‌last-16 clash against Belgium after FIFA suspended the red-card sanction he received in the team's ​previous match, with a ⁠FIFA appeals committee ⁠rejecting Belgium's challenge to the decision.

• Balogun, ⁠the ‌team's leading scorer at the tournament on three, spearheads ⁠the U.S. attack alongside Christian Pulisic.

• ​U.S. coach ‌Mauricio Pochettino selects Matt Freese to ⁠start ​in goal, no changes from the previous match against Bosnia.

• Belgium's Kevin ⁠De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and ​Jeremy Doku all start on the bench.

U.S.: Matt Freese, Sergino Dest, Chris Richards, ⁠Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream, Alex Freeman, Malik Tillman, Folarin Balogun.

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois, ​Brandon Mechele, Maxim De ⁠Cuyper, Youri Tielemans, Leandro Trossard, Charles ​De Ketelaere, Timothy Castagne, ‌Nathan Ngoy, Nicolas Raskin, ​Amadou Onana, Dodi Lukebakio.

(Reporting by Rory CarrollEditing by Christian Radnedge)

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