Belgium Advances to World Cup Quarter-finals After Overcoming Controversy

For Belgium, Monday’s 4-1 victory over the United States was doubly sweet. They advanced to the World Cup quarter-finals, as well as overcoming what they saw as injustice off the field.

The buildup to the match had been tinged with controversy after Fifa had suspended the red card US striker Folarin Balogun was given in the last 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina. That meant Balogun was free to play against Belgium instead of serving a one-match ban. When it emerged that Donald Trump had lobbied for Balogun’s red card to be overturned, Belgium – and other nations – were outraged: Uefa called the decision “incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.

The Belgian team’s official social media channels quickly sent out a message after their 4-1 victory was confirmed. “Overturn this,” the posts read, alongside images of their goal celebrations.

Belgium’s captain, Youri Tielemans, said the Balogun controversy had helped motivate his team.

“Let’s be honest: we held a meeting when we heard the news,” Tielemans said after Monday’s game. “We told ourselves we needed to do our talking on the pitch. That’s what we did today. I’m very proud of the team.”

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said the team had faced a “lack of respect” in the US over the last few days.

“People said they could easily beat us, but I think we’ve just proven today that we really are a good team,” he said. “We’re playing a great match.”

Belgium winger Dodi Lukébakio said that although the team were aware of the Balogun incident they did not let it distract them.

“We didn’t understand really why he was allowed to play, because he got the red card, but we didn’t want to go too much into it, we wanted to be focused and to play our game, and that’s what we did today,” he said.

Belgium will play Spain on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.