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U.S. President Donald Trump left for Turkey on Monday during the U.S. Men's National Team's FIFA World Cup defeat to Belgium -Credit:Win McNamee, Getty Images
President Donald Trump had pushed for Folarin Balogun to be available for the United States' FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash against Belgium, yet he was nowhere to be seen when the U.S. Men's National Team suffered a stunning 4-1 collapse.
As the USMNT were being dismantled and knocked out of the tournament, the president was filmed boarding Air Force One bound for Turkey. An official White House response account posted footage of Trump stepping onto the plane ahead of the NATO summit at 9:33 p.m. ET on July 6.
By that point, the United States were already trailing by three goals in a humiliating 4-1 defeat, transforming the Balogun red card controversy into a far less favorable narrative surrounding Trump's involvement, as per The Mirror US.
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-Credit:John Todd/ISI Photos, ISI Photos via Getty Images
Trump had become central to the pre-match buildup after reaching out to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request a review of Balogun's red card suspension.
FIFA subsequently put the striker's one-match ban on hold, allowing the USMNT's leading scorer to line up against Belgium despite fierce opposition from UEFA and the Belgian federation.
An appeal from the Belgian federation followed, but to no avail. After which, they warned that should Balogun be named to the matchday squad, this would leave "all further actions open." Precisely what they mean by this is unclear; however, it seems a safe assumption to make that it may involve the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Balogun was handed a starting berth but failed to provide US Soccer with the spark it had hoped for. Belgium drew first blood in the ninth minute through Charles De Ketelaere, and their relentless offensive pressure never let up.
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Malik Tillman was able to equalize in the 31st minute, scoring yet another stunning free kick as he had done in the previous game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. But Belgium were quick to respond, with De Ketelaere capitalizing on a horror error from goalkeeper Matt Freese just minutes later to make it 3-1.
Despite various attacking additions from Pochettino in the second half, with Ricardo Pepi, Gio Reyna, and Haji Wright all coming on at various stages, whilst Sebastian Berhalter came on for an injured Christian Pulisic, it made no difference.
Romelu Lukaku, Belgium's all-time leading scorer, netted his 93rd international goal in the 93rd minute to put the final nail in the coffin as the third and final host nation exited the competition in the Round of 16.
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