So the USA march on. Mauricio Pochettino has guided his team past the group stage and into a last 16 date with Belgium. On the face of it, that is a s...
So the USA march on. Mauricio Pochettino has guided his team past the group stage and into a last 16 date with Belgium. On the face of it, that is a successful campaign. But anyone watching at the Stade de Nice would have felt a knot tighten in their stomach when the red card came out. Folarin Balogun, a man who has often promised so much in the red, white, and blue, let his discipline slip at the worst possible moment.The incident itself was born of frustration. The forward had been isolated for large periods, feeding off scraps against a well drilled low block. He dropped deep, tried to force the issue, and then lunged. It was a tackle that had no malice but plenty of recklessness. The referee had no choice. Pochettino stood motionless on the touchline, the blood draining from his face. He knows that a tournament can turn on a single decision. The question now is whether this one has already turned the USA's good fortune sour.Balogun will be suspended for that Belgian clash. It leaves Pochettino with a genuine headache in the final third. Do you go with the youthful exuberance of a Ricardo Pepi, who offers physical presence but lacks Balogun's subtle link up play Or do you try something more radical, shifting Christian Pulisic into a false nine role and sacrificing a winger The tactical flexibility of this squad is about to be tested to its absolute limit. Belgium will have watched this tape with glee. They know the USA's chief goal threat is missing. They will press high, squeeze the space, and dare the Americans to find a solution from deep.There is a cruel irony here. The USA have grown in confidence under Pochettino, showing real grit in transitional play and developing a meanness at the back. But football has a way of punishing you for the smallest of errors. Balogun's red card is not just a suspension. It is a psychological blow. The squad will feel they have to be perfect now, that one more mistake could send them home. For a young team still learning how to win on the biggest stage, that pressure can be a poison. The Belgium game will tell us everything about their character. Can they rise above this self inflicted wound Or will Balogun's moment of madness be the story that defines their tournament Squeaky bum time has arrived early.
