World Cup Story Feed
World Cup Story Feed
In the 31st minute, Folarin Balogun made a move on the turf of Levi's Stadium that made 70,000 people laugh at him.
In the 31st minute, Folarin Balogun did something on the grass at Levi's Stadium that made 70,000 people laugh.
It was the Round of 32 match between the USA and Bosnia. Santa Clara, nearly 70,000 seats. He received a cross from Pulisic, shot with his left foot into the bottom right corner. The ball went in. He turned around, spread his arms, and did LeBron James' signature "King's Stride"—the shushing gesture meant to silence the crowd.
Then the linesman raised his flag. Offside. Goal disallowed.
The King's Stride was for nothing. 70,000 people watched an awkward celebration, and he had to run back for the restart. The worst part was, he knew as he did it that he'd have to do it again later. To pull that off, he was betting on himself to score again.
14 minutes later. The 45th minute. Another cross from Pulisic, again with his left foot, again into the bottom right corner. The ball went in. His third goal of the tournament. This time it counted.
He did the King's Stride again.
That night, LeBron tweeted: "LFG!!!!!! THE 🤫 HAS 🛬 at the World Cup! Helluva goal there Young GOAT." An NBA legend called a 24-year-old footballer the "Young GOAT." That tweet instantly launched Balogun from a niche soccer topic to a mainstream American sports trend.
This season, he played 26 Ligue 1 matches for Monaco, scoring 13 goals with 4 assists, and 19 goals across all competitions. Fans voted him Player of the Season. But LeBron's shoutout was something else. In 45 minutes, a goal, the King's Stride, and a superstar's tweet all landed on him.
Midway through the second half, the arc broke.
Around the 64th minute, Balogun and Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović contested a long ball. His right boot studs landed directly on the opponent's right ankle. In the slow-motion replay, the ankle twisted inward, the studs' contact clearly visible. Referee Klaus initially didn't show a card. VAR intervened. He walked to the sideline monitor, watched, and came back.
Straight red.
The USA's first red card at a World Cup since 2006. The last one was 20 years ago in a group stage match against Italy, when Mastroeni got a straight red for a tackle on Pirlo, and Pope got a second yellow. A card no American had seen in 20 years, and it landed on this "new American," born in New York, raised in London, and an Arsenal academy product.
Former US international Alexi Lalas blasted on FOX: "If his name was Messi, he would have still been on the field."
That sounded satisfying, but the slow-motion replay doesn't care about names. Studs on the ankle, ankle twisted inward. The danger was clear, regardless of who committed the foul. A stamp is a stamp, and a twisted ankle doesn't heal itself just because the goal was pretty.
Coach Pochettino defended him after the match: "That was a normal action in football... never intentional... never a red card." A normal action, accidental, never deliberate, so it should never be a red card.
Intent doesn't matter in the face of that tackle. The studs came down, the ankle twisted, and Klaus watched the replay. The rest was out of his hands.
Balogun himself was more honest than his coach. "I think a yellow card would have been fair... But it's happened, and it's something that I have to accept." A yellow would have been fairer because it wasn't intentional. But it happened, and he accepted it.
In the 82nd minute, Tillman sealed the win with a free kick. Final whistle, 2-0.
Balogun walked over to the referee team and shook hands with each official. "After every game, I tried to shake the referee's hand." He does it after every match. A 24-year-old who had just been sent off walked back onto the field and shook hands with the man who sent him off.
That same night, Domino's Pizza was giving away freebies.
Total budget: one million dollars. Trigger condition: a USMNT player gets a red card during the 2026 World Cup. Domino's set this up in May, closing on June 10th. Only members who registered for Domino's Rewards before then could claim a free medium two-topping pizza. That one tackle lit up Domino's marketing button. The million-dollar budget started burning.
The young man who made that tackle was walking to the locker room.
The red card cannot be appealed. The US Soccer Federation can only watch. Automatic one-match suspension, missing the Round of 16 against Belgium. The Athletic confirmed no additional suspension. If the USA advance to the quarterfinals, he can return.
The stricter officiating standards at this World Cup were an open secret. As of Balogon's tackle, the tournament had shown 12 straight red cards, more than the total of both 2022 Qatar and 2018 Russia combined. The height of the studs is the absolute baseline for a red card. In slow motion, it's crystal clear, leaving no gray area for referees. Balogun stepped right on that heaviest line.
In the mixed zone, all the microphones were pointed at the King's Stride, LeBron, and free pizza.
No one asked how Muharemović's ankle was doing now.
References