U.S. Men’s Soccer Team Just Received HUGE News

The U.S. Men’s Soccer Team has just received huge news from FIFA officials.

As WLT Report previously reported on Thursday night the USMNT was easily able to defeat Bosnia to advance to the round of 16.

The USMNT defeated Bosnia 2-0, however the match was not without controversy.

Their star player Folarin Balogun was given a red card which means he would be unable to play in the team’s next game against Belgium.

USA Today has now reported Balogun’s suspension  has been reversed and shared what this now means for team USA:

The United States no longer needs to find an answer to its biggest lineup question heading into its World Cup round of 16 match with Belgium.

Who would replace Folarin Balogun?

Balogun, it turns out, after FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee announced a surprising reversal on Sunday – the day before the contest – won’t be suspended.

The forward was sent off for coming down on the foot of Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the 64th minute of the Americans’ win in the round of 32. The red card carried a one-match suspension in the next game, and there is no appeal process. However, the suspension was suspended by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee.

Breaking: Folarin Balogun will be available to play in USA's Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday, FIFA announced.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has suspended the red card issued to the USA striker during their Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. pic.twitter.com/Vei4RKDKfP

— ESPN (@espn) July 5, 2026

In a statement President Trump shared, “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”

USA-USA-USA 🦅 https://t.co/yKnJxew9tU pic.twitter.com/75KmExgrUJ

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 5, 2026

The New York Times provided a preview of the USMNT upcoming match against Belgium:

American fans can be proud of the win against Bosnia and Herzegovina because wins in the knockout stage of the World Cup are incredibly rare for the U.S. That 2-0 win was technically the country’s second victory in the knockouts. The U.S. making the final 16 of a World Cup, however, is not nearly as rare.

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The U.S. reached this round four years ago and has now done so in six of the last nine World Cups. The American men had become pretty good at getting out of the group stage in the tournament’s previous 32-team format. It was what came after that proved incredibly difficult.

Since 1994, the U.S. is 1-4 in this round. One of those four losses came against Belgium in 2014. When Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room tied the World Cup single-game save record with 15 saves against Ecuador in the group stage, the mark he tied was set by former U.S. keeper Tim Howard 12 years ago against Belgium. The United States was under siege in that game, but managed to go to extra time before losing 2-1.

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and striker Romelu Lukaku are still around from that Belgium team. In this tournament, Lukaku has scored twice, including on Wednesday against Senegal. De Bruyne is still the main playmaker, and Courtois is starting in goal.

No one from that U.S. team in 2014 is on the 2026 roster.

De Bruyne, now 35, and star winger Jérémy Doku were subbed off in the 56th minute Wednesday, with Belgium trailing Senegal 2-0. At the time, it seemed like a radical move for manager Rudi Garcia to take off arguably his two most talented players. But Lukaku, who subbed in at halftime, scored in the 86th minute to give Belgium a chance, before Youri Tielemans tied the game three minutes later. Belgium won in extra time with a late penalty kick.

Lukaku will present a big target for the U.S. defense to manage, but he might not start in the Round of 16. The 33-year-old has started only once this tournament.

That Belgium-Senegal match took place in Seattle, just like the U.S.-Belgium game will. Belgium, like the U.S., has played on the West Coast the entire tournament. The Red Devils also played in Seattle for their opening match against Egypt.

Belgium’s midfield, led by De Bruyne and Tielemans, is by far the best the Americans will have seen at this World Cup, but it hasn’t always looked pretty. The Red Devils tied Egypt and Iran with lackluster attacking play and looked beaten against Senegal before the miraculous comeback.

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Before the tournament, Belgium was solidly ahead of the U.S. in the odds to win it all. That flipped after the U.S. had two dominant wins to start group play and Belgium had draws in two games they were favored to win.