Дэлхийн аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээний шөвгийн 16-д ФИФА АНУ-ын довтлогч Фоларин Балогуны торгуулийг цуцалсан нь Бельгийн шигшээ багийн дургүйцлийг төрүүлж, улс төрийн томоохон маргааныг өдөөв. Энэхүү шийдвэрийг талбайн эзэн орны талд үйлчилсэн шударга бус явдал гэж үзсэн Бельгийн тоглогчид талбай дээр өөрсдийн ур чадвараар хариу барихаар шийдсэн юм.
Ромелу Лукаку дөрөв дэх гоолоо оруулсны дараа “та нарыг сонсохгүй байна” хэмээх үйлдэл хийж, багийнхан нь “Трамп бүжиг” бүжиглэсэн нь ФИФА-гийн шийдвэрийг эсэргүүцсэн тод илэрхийлэл боллоо. Тоглолтын дараа Николас Раскин, Доди Лукебакио, Тибо Куртуа нар энэ шийдвэрийг үл хүндэтгэсэн үйлдэл хэмээн шүүмжилсэн бол дасгалжуулагч Руди Гарсия Балогунд ямар нэгэн буруу байхгүй гэдгийг тодотгов.
Дасгалжуулагч Руди Гарсиягийн тактикийн өөрчлөлтүүд, ялангуяа Кевин Де Брюйне, Жереми Доку нарыг сэлгээнд суулгасан шийдвэр нь үр дүнгээ өгч, Бельги баг Сенегалын эсрэг гайхалтай эргэн ирэлт хийсэн. Шарль Де Кетеларегийн гоолууд болон сэлгээний тоглогчдын үр дүнтэй тоглолт нь багийг шөвгийн наймд шалгарахад хүргэв.
Бельгичууд энэхүү тэмцээнд оролцохдоо бусад багуудаас хамгийн бага зам туулсан нь тэдний бие бялдрын бэлэн байдалд эерэгээр нөлөөлж байна. Гарсия тоглолтыг эхлүүлж буй болон дуусгаж буй хоёр бүрэлдэхүүн гэсэн зарчмаар тоглолтыг хоёр үе шатанд хуваан удирдаж байгаа нь амжилт авчирлаа.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Belgium aren’t really used to being at the centre of global political scandals.
But when FIFA – shortly after a friendly conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump – suspended USMNT striker Folarin Balogun’s ban for their round-of-16 match, Belgium were absolutely livid.
They had President Trump and secretary of state Marco Rubio referencing them by name and, for a while, it must have felt to the country of around 11million people like the whole world was taking them on.
Donald Trump with the head of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, during the World Cup draw last year (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Instead, the whole world was pretty much with them, with FIFA’s decision provoking mass sympathy for their plight and stoking anti-American sentiment for the feeling they and/or FIFA were bending the rules to the host nation’s advantage.
In the Belgian camp there was anger, yes, but they also spotted an opportunity to pull off a daring, party-pooping victory, seemingly against the odds.
Within the group, while furious about the Balogun decision, they were not short of belief off the back of their stunning comeback victory over Senegal (they were 2-0 down in the 86th minute and won 3-2 at the end of extra time). Plus, they had beaten the United States in a friendly back in March with Balogun in the team.
While they strongly opposed FIFA’s decision and duly launched an appeal citing the process behind it, the message in the camp was to not rise to the bait, to take the moral high ground and let their football do the talking.
It was only when Romelu Lukaku scored their fourth goal in Seattle that their true feelings on the matter were revealed, with the striker’s ‘we can’t hear you’ cupped-ear celebration followed by the team doing the Trump dance, both on the pitch and then later again in the dressing room.
Then came the tweet.
Overturn this. 🧏♂️ #USABEL pic.twitter.com/KcBAJp3Z7d
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 7, 2026
And then came the mixed zone chat. Midfielder Nicolas Raskin called the Balogun decision an injustice, Dodi Lukebakio said he didn’t understand it, Thibaut Courtois said Belgium had been disrespected and Youri Tielemans revealed the players had held a team meeting about the scandal.
After the victory, they were still aghast at the Balogun decision, albeit now with a smile on their faces.
They were certainly aware of and appreciated the support received from across the world, with staff saying their phones had lit up at full time with countless congratulatory messages.
While publicly, Belgium have moved on from the saga — and indeed, given the extra motivation it clearly gave their players, plus how it also appeared to distract the U.S. squad, it probably ultimately benefited them — in private, there remains a sense of exasperation at what they perceive as FIFA siding with the host nation and their president.
Belgium’s history with FIFA goes back more than a century. They were one of the founding member nations of the organisation back in 1904, along with Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, and, as Courtois said, they felt they were due more respect. It’s a country renowned for having a relaxed attitude; it takes a lot to get them riled, but this certainly crossed a line.
They also feel proud of themselves for standing up to FIFA and feel they’ve been trailblazers in taking on the world governing body (Croatia have lodged an appeal over the VAR protocols used in their defeat to Portugal, while Belgium also complained about their Los Angeles training pitch).
There was certainly no blame attached to Balogun, who approached Rudi Garcia for a post-match chat in which the Belgium manager told the striker he had no issue with him, only with FIFA.
“He came to talk to me, I really like that,” Garcia told reporters after the game. “It’s not his fault. He’s not the one to blame, and that’s what I told him.”
Frenchman Garcia adds a maverick element to the Belgian setup. The former Marseille, Lyon and Napoli manager was four minutes away from his Belgium stint ending underwhelmingly against Senegal.
His contract is up at the end of the tournament and, having substituted Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, his decisions would have been ridiculed had Belgium gone out.
Instead, since the 86th minute against Senegal, they have scored seven goals (all with De Bruyne off the field) and looked a completely different team in defence and attack, producing incisive, fast-paced football.
Belgium’s players go wild after Youri Tielemans’ winner against Senegal in Seattle (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Garcia’s team selections and unorthodox, unpredictable calls during games can raise eyebrows. He dropped De Bruyne and Doku against the U.S. and one backroom staff member, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, said: “Sometimes even we are like, ‘What the f*** is he doing?’.” No one seems to know what he will do next.
And yet, somehow, it’s worked. Belgium, for years, underperformed with their ‘golden generation’ of De Bruyne, Lukaku, Courtois and, going back to previous tournaments, Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Dries Mertens, Axel Witsel and Marouane Fellaini. This summer, they are overperforming with less familiar names, such as Benfica’s 28-year-old winger Dodi Lukebakio, 33-year-old Club Brugge centre-back Brandon Mechele, and Rangers midfielder Raskin, while Atalanta’s Charles De Ketelaere came to the fore with two goals against the U.S.
Garcia wasn’t exactly popular with Belgium fans but since that Senegal match, a website has been set up where they can apologise to him. ‘Sorry Rudi‘ had more than 10,000 apologies or comments posted on it as of Thursday.
Friday’s quarter-final against Spain throws up an intriguing element — Garcia has Spanish heritage, via his father. He has always admired Spanish football and studied its coaching philosophy.
Charles De Ketelaere celebrates after scoring Belgium’s first goal against the U.S. (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Either way, expect Belgium to play without fear and pressure from here on. Few expected them to reach the quarter-finals, particularly after starting the tournament with draws against Egypt and Iran. Within the national federation, the target was the last eight, using their pre-tournament FIFA ranking of nine as a benchmark.
If we didn’t expect them to get this far, what should we actually expect from them now? Well, perhaps late goals.
Garcia, as he explained after beating the U.S., has a team that starts the game and one that finishes it, Lukaku being the prime example as the late ‘finisher’.
“Games are won in two phases,” Garcia said. “The ones starting the games and the ones finishing the game. Since football allows for five substitutions, we’re playing a new sport. It’s a new dimension for coaching.”
That, combined with Belgium travelling the fewest miles of any of the quarter-finalists (three games in Seattle, one in Vancouver just over the border in Canada, and now a second in Los Angeles further down the west coast), has potentially helped them score six goals after the 86th minute in their last three games combined.
Whatever the scoreline with five minutes left to play, or indeed just in general, don’t write off Belgium.
