Trump ends up with his nose a handspan long: United States falls heavily defeated
· toni padilla
Source Summary
Neither Donald Trump's calls nor FIFA's favors have helped much. The United States' journey in their World Cup has ended in the round of 16 after deservedly falling to Belgium, who will be Spain's opponent in the quarter-finals. Mauricio Pochettino's team has played their worst match at the least opportune moment, likely distracted by all the noise caused by the scandal surrounding Folarin Balogun, the local forward sent off against Bosnia who was 'pardoned' after pressure from the White House. An unprecedented event, that the president of a government should come forward explaining how he has pulled strings so that an expelled player can play the next match. But Balogun, surely overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the previous 24 hours, did very little on the pitch. And the Belgian Red Devils thrashed the hosts (1-4).