The United States men’s national soccer team celebrated with prayer after booking their spot in the FIFA World Cup round of 16 with a gritty 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, but they will be without their leading scorer, striker Folarin Balogun, when they face Belgium in Seattle, Washington, on Monday.
Shortly after giving Team USA the lead against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 45th minute of the match, Balogun was slapped with a controversial red card that forced even Merriam-Webster, “America’s Most Trusted Dictionary,” to declare on X, “That was not the definition of a red card.”
Balogun, who has been a breakout star for the U.S., scoring three goals for the team so far over the tournament, was ejected in the 64th minute of the game following what appeared to be an accidental step on the ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic as they competed for the ball. The ejection came after a recommendation from video assistant referee Juan Ernesto Soto Arévalo to review the play for a possible red card.
Many sports analysts, including former Select Group referee Andy Davies, also disagreed with the decision.
“Balogun can feel unfortunate to be red carded in this situation as, in my opinion, this was not a red card offense. With both players challenging for ball, the contact from Balogun on Muharemovic, while it looked bad in slow motion, was purely accidental and an unfortunate result from two players challenging for possession of the ball in a normal football movement,” Davies wrote for ESPN.
“VAR made their recommendation to the referee based on slow-motion and still replays, which is not aligned with VAR protocols, as these should be used for only point-of-contact purposes in a red card tackle situation. Once at the screen, however, it would have been a surprise if the referee did not send off Balogun considering the pictures he was presented by VAR.”
The decision forced the U.S. to play with only 10 players on the field for the next 30 minutes, but midfielder Malik Tillman extended the team’s lead to 2-0 in the 82nd minute with an explosive direct free-kick goal.
Mark McKenzie led the USMNT in prayer after the Americans moved on to the Round of 16 ???? pic.twitter.com/scEBXAO3ow
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 2, 2026
As fans celebrated the win at the end of the game, video shows defender Mark McKenzie leading the team in prayer and concluding with a collective “Amen!” at the end.
The prayer, which went viral on social media, prompted approving reactions from conservative and Christian figures like activist missionary and worship leader Sean Feucht.
“Team USA gathers to pray again, shouting their praise & thanks to God over the noise!!! Man, there is something so special about this team,” he declared in a post on X.
“I can’t get over this. Every player on Team USA, heads bowed, locked in on a postgame prayer after knocking out Bosnia,” wrote conservative media personality Benny Johnson on X.
“When’s the last time you saw an entire American team do this? Certainly not in the NBA… Faith, brotherhood, and gratitude on the world stage. God bless America. To Him goes the glory.”
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