USMNT vs. Belgium expert predictions, World Cup picks: What does Folarin Balogun's return mean for USA Soccer?
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- USMNT faces Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle on Monday, one win from their first World Cup quarterfinal appearance in nearly a quarter century.
- Folarin Balogun is eligible to play after FIFA suspended the red card he received against Bosnia and Herzegovina, removing what panelists called the U.S. lineup's biggest question mark.
- Belgium beat the U.S. 2-1 in extra time in the 2014 Round of 16 in what remains a defining heartbreak for American fans, with goalkeeper Tim Howard setting a FIFA World Cup record with 16 saves.
- Belgium also won the most recent meeting 5-2 in a March friendly in Atlanta, with Jeremy Doku starring against a more experimental Pochettino lineup that day.
- Three of four panel experts pick USMNT to win (two predicting 2-1, one 3-1) and credit Balogun's reinstating with flipping what they'd otherwise treat as a coin-flip match against oddsmakers' favorite Belgium.
- Jeremy Doku, Thibaut Courtois, and Leandro Trossard are flagged by panelists as Belgium's individual difference-makers capable of deciding a tight knockout match on their own.
- Mauricio Pochettino's attack-minded, high-intensity system is described by the panel as unlikely to shift toward defensive caution even against Belgium's superior individual talent.
Why it matters: A USMNT win Monday ends a 24-year quarterfinal drought and validates Pochettino's aggressive identity; an exit ends America's deepest tournament run in a generation. Belgium's elimination would extend the pattern panelists flagged of a so-called golden generation failing to convert talent into a deep knockout run, despite Doku, Trossard, and Courtois all being available.
