World Cup 2026: Reaction as the USMNT lose to Belgium at the last-16 stage and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal are knocked out

'Infantino should be ashamed'

USA 1-4 Belgium

Wayne Rooney

Former England striker on BBC One

I think it's an absolute disgrace, I really do.

I know it's UEFA but I got a three-game ban before Euro 2012. I was due to miss the three group games and I got told if I went over to Switzerland and did a training session with a bunch of kids, my third game would get taken off. I agreed to do it because I didn't want a three-game ban - but I thought that was wrong.

For this to be suspended, they either take the red card away which is probably the right decision and then he can play. But to suspend it for a year? I think it's an absolute disgrace. Infantino should be ashamed of this.

The sportsmanship of this game is in question here.

If I'm USA's opponent, I'd be absolutely fuming. It's wrong in every way.

'Another example of football not doing the talking'

USA 1-4 Belgium

Dale Johnson

Football issues correspondent

Fifa's statutes are clear about political interference. It is not permitted.

Countries are regularly suspended from international football because of government involvement in national football associations.

Pakistan, for instance, have been suspended three times in the space of eight years.

When it comes to Infantino and Trump, are the rules different?

The World Cup draw, during which Trump was bestowed with the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize, felt like the culmination of two years of Infantino fostering a close relationship with the US president.

"You can always count, Mr President, on my support, on the support of the entire football community to help you make peace and make the world prosper all over the world," Infantino told Trump when presenting the award.

Human rights campaign group FairSquare complained to Fifa's ethics committee in December that Infantino broke the governing body's rules on political neutrality in creating the prize.

With no response, last month 50 MEPs wrote a new letter to the ethics committee, external, external demanding action. Like many situations with Fifa, there has been no response.

Fast-forward to the tournament, and Trump has not been to a single World Cup match. But here he was, taking ownership of Balogun's situation. It was another example of football not doing the talking.

We had seen it with Somali referee Omar Artan. Artan was denied access to the US by immigration officials, with Infantino accused of losing control of his own World Cup. Yet when he faced questions from the media last month - for the first time in over three years - his response was, at best, glib.

"Just, you know, chill, relax," Infantino said of Artan's plight.

Controversy has always felt just around the corner. That something was bubbling under the surface.

And through it all, rarely have there been answers or transparency.

Take Friday's five hours of limbo, when Fifa first decided to change the kick-off time of England's last-16 tie against Mexico, then did a U-turn, while pretending it didn't happen.

The Balogun situation is out of the same playbook.

A decision communicated without any reasoning. Football is just told it is happening, and it must accept it.

Fifa risks becoming 'kindergarten for clowns'

USA 1-4 Belgium

Lars-Christer Olsson

Former UEFA chief executive speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast

I think seriously that FIFA has to think a lot about not becoming a kindergarten for clowns because the peace prize was stupid. This is dangerous because it interferes in the rules of the game and what football is.

This is why this matter really is important, because you shouldn't be a playground for people like these guys, because it is jeopardising the credibility of the entire sport.

It's a political intervention and of course sports and politics are connected in different campuses but a federation like FIFA should stand above that and they should be very strong in giving the message we are the ones taking the decisions and these kinds of decisions shouldn't be made at all.

I think probably for FIFA it's better to keep quiet, but what I am looking for is a firm reaction from the member associations in FIFA, so that it's not going to be a ridiculous game everybody is laughing about.

It's better to be conscious now for the rest of the tournament, because the tournament has been a success in certain ways, of course, so they should not jeopardise that.

Balogun saga didn't affect our performance - Pochettino

USA 1-4 Belgium

United States

Asked afterwards if he had been affected by being the focus of much of the attention in the build-up, US boss Pochettino said: "It didn't affect our performance. It's not an excuse. It wasn't our day.

"But in a personal way, what is the point to insult or receive a lot of bad messages?

"It's a rule for the federation to apply and to try [to overturn the ban]. My position was to train the team. If Balogun is available because Fifa allow for you to have the player, it's not a problem.

"I feel disappointed with too many people. They put politics and manipulation, talk about ethics and integrity [first]. If we talk about the history of this game, I am disappointed in a personal way."

Trump on 'very unfair' suspension

USA 1-4 Belgium

US President Donald Trump speaking at the White House before the game on Monday: "He [Balogun] didn't do anything wrong. He's our best player, or one of our best players, and the referee gave him a red card. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't think it meant much.

"Then I started hearing that means he can't play in the next game - at least the next game. If it happened to another player that would have been unfair but when they take your best player or just about - they have some great players - and they say you can't play, that is very unfair."

"It's one thing to penalise somebody for the game, but how do you penalise them for a game that hasn't been played yet? It's very unfair, you can't do that."

Balogun noise impacted USA players

USA 1-4 Belgium

Jeremiah White

Former USA winger speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast

We were beaten by a better team. We were out coached, out classed.

Belgium seems to be peaking at the right time.

The moment got to the players. All the extracurricular activity around the red card and how that was treated – that created a lot of noise for the players and they carried it on the field for sure.

The reality is we went in, we were positive that the nation really needed this, and the lights got a little bright. We were against a team who could control every aspect of the game.

We had possession where we they wanted us to have possession.

I wasn’t certain we’d to beat Belgium but I wanted the score to be closer to avoid the humiliation. Just to keep the nation positive and wanting more for this team.

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