United States striker Folarin Balogun believes his suspended red-card ban at the World Cup created a distraction for his team in the round of 16.
Balogun received a straight red during a round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was supposed to automatically result in his suspension for one match. However, FIFA later ruled Balogun eligible to face Belgium in the following game in an unusual and controversial call. The decision came after U.S. President Donald Trump contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for the red-card ban to be reviewed.
With Balogun on the field, the United States' World Cup campaign on home soil ended with a 4-1 defeat to Belgium.
"My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team, but when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy," Balogun said Tuesday on "CBS Morning." "I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves, because it's something that's so unique.
"The closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult. A lot of outside noise."
Balogun was a key starter for the U.S. in the tournament, scoring twice in the opening game against Paraguay and finding the net again versus Bosnia before being sent off.
The 25-year-old, however, was mostly quiet against Belgium.
"It is not something I think was too difficult to be able to separate once we got over the initial announcement that I would be back on the team," Balogun said. "You saw, definitely, it was a difficult game against Belgium, and that can kind of overshadow whether we were focused or not. But ... I know we had full concentration going into the game."
Balogun said he expects to represent his country again at the 2030 World Cup.
