Folarin Balogun gave the United States everything on July 1, and then he gave them a massive problem. The USMNT striker opened the scoring in a 2-0 round of 32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, only to be sent off after a VAR review for a serious foul late in the second half.
The result: an automatic one-match suspension that rules him out of the Round of 16 clash against Belgium. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino now faces one of the biggest tactical puzzles of the tournament, figuring out how to replace the player who had been scoring at will.
What happened against Bosnia-Herzegovina
Balogun’s night started about as well as any striker could hope. He found the back of the net early, putting the Americans ahead and setting the tone for what looked like a comfortable knockout-stage debut.
Then the match took a sharp turn. A challenge in the second half drew a VAR intervention, and the review resulted in a straight red card. The USMNT were forced to grind out the remaining minutes with ten men.
