Balogun to play in Round of 16, Plus a Mexico-England Preview

0:00Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

0:32It might be belated, but America just received a big birthday gift. In an extraordinary turn of events, Foller and Balogun is now available to face Belgium. We'll react to FIFA's intervention. Plus, we'll get you ready for today's mouth-watering quarterfinals. Vinicius Junior and Brazil taking on Erling Haaland and Norway. And can Dingland get a win in the altitude at the Azteca, or will their World Cup hopes vanish into thin air? We'll bring you all that and expert predictions on ESPN FC next.

1:14Hello and welcome into ESPN FC. Kei Marie Alejandro Moreno and Stevie Nicol here in the studio. And news coming in as we go to air today that Flo Balogun will not be serving a suspension against Belgium in their game in the last 16. Red, white and screwed, said the papers, and seeing Red after his 64th minute red card after a challenge on defender Tarek Moharemovic in the Bosnia and Hertha Govina game. That meant that he would be suspended for the game against Belgium on Monday, but in what is an unprecedented move, the player is now available to face the Belgians in that last 16 clash in Seattle.

1:53tomorrow. We now welcome into the show Yanagafiotov, Hercules Gomez and our own Sam Borden. Sam, let's start with you. How has this happened? Yeah, Kay, the most interesting thing to me is that while U.S. soccer officials, I think, did have some inkling this could happen, were told that they were in conversations with FIFA over the last couple of days, the players had no idea. They literally saw reports on social media while on the bus over here to the University of Washington, where they had their match day minus one training. Chris Richards said about 40 conversations started breaking out all over the bus.

2:31They finally got confirmation when they arrived at the facility and heard that, in fact, Balogun is back. Obviously, really, really, really excited. I think Alex Freeman might have said it best when he said, we don't know how this happened. We're just happy that it happened. Yeah, you can imagine that the U.S. side of things, they are very excited to have their top scorer back, who, of course, had scored in that game as well before he did get the red card. What are your thoughts on it, Herc?

3:01Well, it increases the U.S. men's national team's chances of advancing versus Belgium. He was literally that X factor. He's already got three goals in as many games. Landon Donovan had an addition with three goals. You've got to go to 1930 before that. It doesn't happen for the Americans every tournament. He's a player playing with tons of confidence and would certainly increase those odds of beating a team like Belgium. But there's the train of thought of how did this happen? Why did this happen? I'm of the train of thought of where is the injustice? Is the injustice the red card that happened to Foller and Balogun?

3:36Putting up a still frame, a slow motion image, giving it to the referee who didn't even call the red card in the game. It was Var who brought him over. and then saying, based off this still image, based off this slow motion replay, is it contact? Is it a red card? Is it risking or endangering the opponent? Is that the injustice? Or is the injustice something that you're not allowed to appeal, you're not supposed to appeal, all of a sudden is appealed? Much like the Cristiano Ronaldo decision where he elbows a player in his three games and it goes down to one so he's available for the World Cup.

4:09I'm of the train of thought, and I know this isn't a popular opinion, that it shouldn't have been a red card. I don't believe you can go through the game in still images or slow motion and judge events. That to me was the biggest injustice. This is allowing a player who should have never been sent off to play. But if you're anybody but American, this is ugly. This is very ugly. Because we're seeing and hearing reports of the President of the United States speaking with Infantino, speaking with FIFA, thanking FIFA. It just looks very, very murky. It's an ugly scene if you're not American. But to me, the injustice was the red card.

4:48And as we say, we're not confirming any of these reports that we're seeing just now that Hercules referenced. But to go to the Cristiano Ronaldo moment, just to add some context to it, because that has been brought up. He was handed a three-match ban for violent conduct during a World Cup qualifier against Ireland. FIFA chose to defer the final two games of that ban to a probationary period, ensuring that he wouldn't miss Portugal's opening World Cup group stage matches. He did serve one of those bands. Ale, your thoughts on what we're seeing today? Okay, I can't help but thinking this is shady business.

5:22When the news comes across, you kind of go, what? I'm sorry, excuse me, do what? Why? Now, while you may think that he should not have gotten a red card to begin with, I would suggest that the mistake, if you think that was a mistake was not egregious enough for that red card to be rescinded. Once you decided that that was a red card I don't think that would have been a mistake egregious enough to take it back. And if indeed you were going to take it back if you thought that it was an egregious mistake then that's done within 24 hours of that game ending. The fact that we're finding out about this four days later and one day ahead of the match it brings all sorts of speculation out into the open.

6:10And all of those speculations seem to be fair game because it really comes across as shady business. It comes across as preferential treatment. It comes across as, wait a minute, wait a minute, it seems like it's a different set of rules for a different set of players, and in this case, for the host nation. Which indeed then brings about that thought of, wait, wait, wait, this doesn't seem right. Even if you thought that, to use Hercules' word, even if you thought that it was an injustice for Balogun to be thrown out, this is not the solution to the injustice, is my point. It didn't feel like that was an egregious enough mistake for this red card to be rescinded.

6:52And how we got here, shady business. Stevie? What's that saying? If it walks like a duck and quacks, it's obviously a duck. I mean, there's no question this is about the fact that it's an American player. There's no doubt the Ronaldo one is because it was Ronaldo. There's no question. Messi didn't get sent off for a similar situation from Balogun because he was Messi. But how about you feel the guy from Qatar? Adibo, I think his name was, who gets a five-match ban for something that is innocuous. Because Coney broke his leg, it wasn't the player's fault. That was a situation that sometimes can happen.

7:29It wasn't a bad tackle. But guess what? He's a nobody as far as FIFA is concerned. And he gets a five-match ban. Ronaldo doesn't. He gets one to make sure he's in the World Cup. And, of course, now we're seeing Balogun, which we're all pleased about. Don't kid ourselves. We're all delighted. But it's not right. Let's get US Soccer's reaction to this. They've issued a statement after the news came out saying we accept the decision of the disciplinary committee and are pleased that following Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow. Our full attention is focused on the round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle.

8:04And we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans. Jan, your reaction, and you wonder what Belgium will be thinking about this too. Well, first of all, I'm surprised that US soccer accepted this decision. That surprised me big time. Well, it's customary to bring a gift to the hosts. It's like the same in Norway, and I guess it's the same in USA. I mean, the rest of the football world, I'm happy for USA. They get their best goal scorer back. Belgium will have another threat in their game tomorrow. But for the rest of the football world, this is a joke. I mean, you can't change the rule as you go by.

8:44I've never, I mean, we had the Ronaldo thing, but at least he did one game against Armenia. I mean, that was a joke as well, because we all knew that's going to be done because it was Cristiano Ronaldo, because you want the biggest stars ready for the World Cup. And I am happy for USA. Get your best player back. The red card, I think it was a red card. I don't think he did it on purpose, but it was still a red card. Having said that, you can't do things like this. This is like a tournament. I feel like I'm back in the village. I played 900 inhabitants and we had a tournament in the villages and we just changed the rule as times go by, as the tournament went by.

9:27This is the World Cup. I mean, what is going on here? President Donald Trump has been on the social media about this very decision, saying on X, thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice. Sam Borden, your reaction? Yeah, Kay, I mean, I think as you guys have been talking about, obviously there are two questions here. One is, was the decision correct in the moment? Was it correct to be a red card? And then has the process been followed afterwards? I think there's no question that it's very confusing. There's no transparency here, and that's part and parcel of what we've seen from FIFA over the years.

10:08It's not surprising at all. I guess the one thing I would say is that I think from a player's perspective, as Christian Pulisic said, this is the right outcome, right? I mean, the decision in the moment was incredibly harsh. The players on the field didn't react. The referee on the field didn't even give a foul, wasn't interested in going further. It was a VAR decision. Perhaps the VAR protocols weren't correctly followed. And so I think Pulisic and several of the U.S. players kept coming back to that same idea, which was that this was incredibly harsh. And in the end, is this the right outcome?

10:41Yes, in terms of a justice perspective. Is it the right outcome in terms of, you know, governance, administration, how a tournament should operate? I'm going to let others speak to that. But I think from a player perspective, they felt it was the wrong decision in the first place. And Balogun deserved the opportunity to play in this match. But that's from the perspective of the United States players. That's not from the perspective of the Bosnia-Herzegovina players that got his ankle mangle. So it's like, honestly, look, the challenge was what it was, and you can take your position whether you think that was a red card or not.

11:15But we got to the situation in which the red card was given. And so then follow the protocols that everybody knows coming into the tournament. Listen, we're going to go over this, we're going to look at it over the next 24 hours, and we're going to come up with a decision. And once we come up with a decision, that decision is final and we move on with our lives. The fact that this has now gone extra days to get to this decision, to this outcome, that's what we're all going. Wait a minute. That is not the rules and regulations and the protocol established by FIFA for this very tournament where everybody came to this tournament and said, hey, this is what these are the bylaws that we are playing by.

11:53We know the rules. This is what we're going to follow. And now FIFA is going, you know, See, those rules and those regulations, they apply to most, but not all. And that's when it gets really, really slippery. We sit and listen to FIFA and UEFA and referees and committees and IFAB and all kinds. And the one thing they all say, they all genuinely say, is the one thing we don't want to do is re-referee the game. Well, I'll tell you what. If this isn't re-referringing again, I'm not quite sure what is. Hold that thought, Jan, because I know Herc was leaning in then when Ali was saying what he was saying.

12:34Herc, what did you want to say? Yeah, to Ali's point, I mean, Ali's talking about an appeal process. There is no appeal process here at this FIFA World Cup. They're not allowed to do this. So take it one step further, Ali. This is moving the goalpost on the players because all you want as a player is if the referee is going to be bad on the field, be bad. consistently so that the players can get used to it so the players can adapt there is no way to adapt here jan mentioned about in his village the rules as you go this is what it is here i mean i'm of the train of thought that it's not a red card in in real time but ali said it best with what we see can you reverse it it's not even the rules to allow it to be reversed this is unprecedented this is literally them making the rules up as they go so i repeat if you're an american fan you should feel glorious right now because you get your best goal scorer back and he could literally be the X factor to advancing to the next round if you're anybody but a US Men's National Team fan This feels off.

13:36It feels like the host nation is gaining in favor here without speculating too much of President Trump and his involvement It leads to all types of speculation of how this came about and why it came about and it's very ugly if you're anybody else besides a U.S. Men's National League fan? Go ahead, Jan. Well, the first thing I'm going to do if I'm off here, I'm going to call our king, the king of Norway. So if Elling Haaland today get an offside goal, he will at least go to Infantino straight away and ask him if he can do that around. Having said that, I get a feeling now that there's a lot of fans of U.S.

14:15saying how they will go backwards to try to find an argument why this is right. It doesn't matter if the red card was correct Oh, it was wrong because that's done. Where is football going? I mean, we start with the rules that we have a referee then we have a VAR then we have a president Then we have a Supreme Court. Is this where we're going now? And I'm not saying I have no idea who was involved or not involved a part of this is the lack of transparency That is one thing. But secondly, this is not how things have been done I mean football been around for many many years and I think Steve's point is very good The poor guy from Qatar who got five games to just state an example of someone because, and bless him, the Canadian player, I hope he'll be back soon.

15:02But this is not looking good. This is not looking good for a fantastic tournament. A fantastic tournament where we have 48 nations who are all in euphoria over their contributions and their games at this World Cup. So this is a terrible, terrible look for everybody except the team that got their best player back or their goalscorer back. Well, let's hear from another member of the team, Christian Pulisic, his reaction to the news. I just found out on the way over here from the guys. Obviously, for us, it gives us a boost. We're really excited. He's been so good for us this tournament. So to have him for tomorrow is obviously really exciting for us.

15:47I think a lot of people would agree. The foul, obviously, it was what it was. It was harsh. It was harsh. There's no doubt about it. So to have him back, we're just excited. We're excited to have him. He's obviously just a big part of this team and a great energy around the squad. Here's a look at the odds before and after the news that Flo Balogun will be available to play against Belgium. And the odds have increased for the U.S. to become favorites, given that they do have Flo Balogun back now. That's what we're looking at, Herc.

16:18Yeah, I mean, for those of you who understand gambling, this was pretty much a pick-em. You know, it was 50-50, and Fala Ralgan tilts that into the U.S. Men's National League's favor against a team like Belgium who was already lacking athleticism and was coming off a plane 120 minutes. He could be the X-factor here, and most likely will be the X-factor. This is unfortunate, because before the World Cup happened here in North America, Mexico, Canada, and the United States, there was so much opinion, and a lot of it divided, about the host countries, or at least two of the three host countries, and what they could provide in terms of hosting.

16:55And there's been nothing but good news when you see people who come to the United States and the experiences they've had. They've been pleasantly surprised. It's given them a different image of Americans around the world. Now this takes us back. This takes us into a territory where maybe for FIFA it's familiar of certain things that they can be held against in terms of unfair treatment to certain groups. This takes you back into something shady, as Alice said. And it's really unfortunate because this is going to be a great game, and it would have been a great game regardless without Foller and Balogun.

17:27Now there could be a tainted outcome if this goes the U.S.'s way. Yeah, we can hear more from Herc on Football Americas. Thanks so much for being with us, Herc. This will be tomorrow with the team from New York. Football Americas has you covered. That will be looking ahead to the game between the USA and Belgium coming up tomorrow. Naden, while we've got you here, we were talking a little bit earlier about this Flo Balogun news. Wanted to get your reaction while you're here. Yes, I won't keep it for long, but I think for most people, I think every side has essentially been spoken about. But the thing that sort of feels the weirdest for me is the fact that, you know, the red card hasn't been rescinded.

18:06You know, it's just been, the ban has been suspended, which is why you start thinking well how does that work you've just made him available but the card still exists so if for example he does something like that in the future then the ban kicks in it kicks in again so how exactly do you justify that because i think it's it's very easy for us to say oh yeah that was the right decision but the right decision hasn't been here because as i say the ban still exists and for a year now he's going to be playing with that on his shoulder knowing that if he commits another foul in that manner then that one game turns to two games turns to three so it's very very peculiar and if I can just make one final point I've not seen a lot of true social in from the president about this tournament so I think the fact that he's been involved now as somebody who likes to get credit for stuff he's involved in would not surprise me if FIFA maybe got a little call from the the peace president as such to say maybe Flo Balogun should be playing this game as if by magic poof here is Flo Balogun ready to a leg in special.

19:06We will be reacting to the result between Brazil and Norway on our YouTube channel. That's our unconfirmed reports, by the way. Unconfirmed reports, we might add. Brazil against Norway coming up, and right after it, at the conclusion to the game, our team will be live on YouTube to bring you all the reaction. Stay with us now as we look back on the game between Paraguay and France. Oh, it was a feisty affair. More on that next.

19:37I like things my way. My coffee, my schedule, and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo Pre-Filled Syringe, which contains F-Gartigamide Alpha and Hyaluronidase QVFC. It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit VivgardMyWay.com. That's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T myway.com. And talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hattrulo. Brought to you by Argenics. Buster Olney here for La Quinta by Wyndham. Summer work travel can feel like extra innings. Long days, late nights, and not a lot of room to stretch out.

20:18Especially when your hotel room feels more like the dugout than the clubhouse. But when you stay at La Quinta by Wyndham, you can step up to spacious suites that give you room to relax, recharge, and get ready for the next day. I always feel like I need that when I'm traveling on the road covering ballgames. Plus, you can earn Wyndham Rewards points with every qualified stay. Because when you've got space to unwind, you're always playing at your best. Tonight, La Quinta. Tomorrow, you shine. Book your next work trip at LaQuinta.com. Terms and conditions apply. In what was a feisty affair at the Philadelphia Stadium, France beat Paraguay 1-0 thanks to a Kylian Mbappe penalty in the 70th minute.

21:05His seventh goal of the tournament. France are now through to the quarterfinals where they will face Morocco. But before we get into it, let's hear what Frank Leboeuf had to say about the results on last night's show. I think it takes two to tango. Yes, France didn't have maybe the best game, but it's impossible to play against a team like that. They refused to play. every action every decision from the referee will be like 30 years ago with many teams in South America where you have to complain you have to discuss you have to not be okay with any decision I'm fed up with that football especially when we saw Cape Verde trying to do something yesterday losing with pride I'm sorry but that Paraguay team was everything that I hate about football and that's That's unfair to a World Cup.

21:55And unfair to their fans. As soon as France scored, that was over. Because there was nothing to be offered by the Paraguay team. Yes, it was definitely a battle. And that's what the Paraguayan papers are referring to. Mbappe in a fight, basically. A little bit of a pun with the name there. And thanks for everything. Albi Roja is what we're seeing here. Ali, what do you think of what Frank's saying as we welcome Nadam back with us on the fact that Paraguay played France the way that they did? Look, I've made it very clear over the many years that we've been doing this show that I could not care less about Paraguay, that they are insufferable in the way that they play, that my team in Venezuela, we have fallen victim to that nonsense for years.

22:44They kept us out of World Cups. They eliminated us from Copa America doing exactly the same thing. And while I'm saying that, I also will say that there's a certain pride that they play with, a certain amount of fight, a certain amount of grind, that they know this is how they're going to win the game and how they're going to give themselves an opportunity to win the game. So I don't criticize that this is the way that they play. I don't like it. It's not the way that I think most of us think the game should be played. But it's the way that gave them a chance, an opportunity to win against France.

23:19And they pushed this game long and longer and longer and longer. And now France is like, wait a minute, is this actually going to happen? I guess we're going to score, but we don't know for certain. And the longer it went, the better it was for Paraguay. So I love me some Frank LaBeouf. But to make the assertion and the generalization of saying that this is what teams in South America do, it's wrong. It's wrong. And I don't like that. Because I'm from South America, and we don't play like that. But I'm not going to sit here and criticize it. I will criticize generalizing and saying, well, this is what they do.

23:57They complain about everything over there. Maybe some teams do. Not all teams do that. And those teams that tend to do that, they feel that that's what gives them the best chance to win a game. Whether you like it or not. Not everybody is going to have Michael Olisse, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Desiree Rue, Barcola, this guy, that guy. Not every country is going to have that. No. So a lot of countries are going to have limitations. And it's still the responsibility of the players on the field and the manager to give themselves the best chance to win. However, you need to do that. Now, for a World Cup champion like Frank LeBeouf, yes, you can look down upon that and say, well, that's not the way you play.

24:38For those of us that have to grind in order to make it to a World Cup, we say, listen, this is what we can do because we're limited. Because we have me playing up top. We have to find different ways to win games. We're not going to score a bunch of goals. So whether you like it or not, it may not fit the beautiful profile of France, but that's the way they're going to play. And they push France to the limit. And that's what Paraguay was trying to do. I'm not defending Paraguay because, as I said, I find them insufferable. France could take it, though, Nadim, and that's been proved. We saw some quotes afterwards from Kylian Mbappe.

25:10I will not repeat what he said, but basically he was saying, if they want to play dirty, cool, we can play dirty too. Yeah, for sure. And I think that's one of the impressive things I believe about this French side, because I think Ali is right. As the game was wearing on, you started to wonder, will France be able to break them down? But one thing about France is that they stood up to the challenge. I think the way that Paraguay played itself, it's not something that, say, people will tend to enjoy watching. But as Ali said, it gives them the best chance to win any game of football. and for them to make France look less invincible like they have done in recent weeks, I think in some ways they do deserve credit for that.

25:44I think there's an element of competitiveness which they really took to the next level yesterday, but France, they backed it. There'll be so many players, anyone that's played before, you've been on a field before with certain people, that when the pressure's on and the physicality increases, some people shy away from it. But instead, with that French team, they stood up, they had the centre-half that were getting in the mix, they had the midfielders ready to battle, and even the front four, to a man, And each one of them was prepared to take those licks and get back up and try and do the same things over and over and over again.