SEATTLE (AP) — After a successful card trick; Folarin Balogun’s suspension liftedthe United States will be aiming to win back-to-back World Cup finals for the first time and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Monday that he believes he will have his top-choice lineup when the 17th-ranked United States faces ninth-placed Belgium in a rematch of the 2014 round of 16 in Brazil. The Red Devils won 2-1 after extra time..
“They have a lot of players who can get hurt. We have to be ready,” American top star Christian Pulisic said on Sunday. “We have to be clinical in many ways.”
At stake is a place in the quarter-finals against Spain or Portugal, and a chance to play France or Morocco in the semi-finals.
Belgium overturned the two-goal deficit in the 86th minute. Won against Senegal 3-2 after extra time The Red Devils beat the USA 12 years ago with goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, but they won again. 5 wins, 2 losses in a friendly match in Atlanta in March.
“We’re two completely different teams than we were in March,” U.S. captain Tim Ream said.
Belgium does not attach much importance to the meeting earlier this year.
Defender Maxime de Kuiper said, “The 2-5 win against America in March gives us a distorted picture.” “It could have ended differently.”
A sellout of more than 66,000 people was expected at Lumen Field, and FIFA’s resale site listed asking prices Sunday for seats in the Hawksnest Triangle at the north end ranging from $1,840 to $8,050.
A large pro-American crowd dressed in red, white and blue celebrated the team with a John Denver chorus. “Take me home, country road.” after that Beat Australia 2-0 in the group stage on June 19th. This fan base is known for its supporters marching down Occidental Avenue toward the stadium before Seattle Sounders games.
“The 12th players, that’s what we call them here,” Pochettino said.
rear Lost to Türkiye 3-2 in the group stage final. The stoppage-time goal ended the U.S. team’s 10th straight loss to a European opponent and advanced to the finals for the fourth straight year. The United States defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 with goals from Balogun and Malik Tillman, earning their second win of the World Cup finals.
Balogun was made eligible after FIFA suspended the suspension for the red card against Bosnia following a phone call from US President Donald Trump to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Reaching the quarterfinals would be a huge leap forward for this group of athletes, who are looking to boost a sport that has lagged in popularity in the United States compared to its top status in other parts of the world.
“We want to leave our mark on the game and leave a legacy. We want it to be more than what this moment created and the excitement around it,” 2022 captain midfielder Tyler Adams said Friday. “We know the further we go, the more success we will have and the more we will grow the game.”
Belgium qualified for the 2014 World Cup for the first time in 12 years and entered the tournament with a squad that included goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, De Bruyne and Eden Hazard in midfield, and Lukaku and Divock Origi in attack. The Red Devils were ranked number one in the FIFA rankings from November 2015 to March 2016 and again from September 2018 to February 2022, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2014, semifinals in 2018, and group stage in 2022.
Four players remain from the 2014 roster: Courtois, De Bruyne, Lukaku and midfielder Axel Witsel.
“This is a new era for us. It is true that we have some players from the golden era, as some people like to say,” Courtois said through an interpreter. “Now we have a young generation, a new generation that is willing to do great things and write a page in Belgium’s history.”
Pochettino has already become the first American manager to win three World Cups. American players are obsessed with bringing American fans of the sport closer to the level of the NFL, MLB, and NBA.
“We’ve all said in one way or another how opportunistic this tournament can be. If we have a good tournament and do things the right way, there’s no telling where it could take us,” Ream explained.
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin contributed to this report.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
