{"id":3765,"date":"2026-07-05T19:42:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T19:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3765"},"modified":"2026-07-05T19:42:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T19:42:20","slug":"how-usmnt-players-reacted-to-folarin-balogun-news-on-bus-to-practice-thought-it-was-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3765","title":{"rendered":"How USMNT players reacted to Folarin Balogun news on bus to practice: ‘Thought it was AI’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SEATTLE \u2014 Just over 24 hours before the biggest match of their lives, it\u2019s hard to imagine the vibe at U.S. men\u2019s national team training on Sunday could have been any better.<\/p>

Read more Why FIFA is allowing USMNT star Folarin Balogun to play vs. Belgium despite World Cup red card suspension<\/a><\/p>\n

Players were happy, joking around, smiling wide. Much of that, obviously, had to do with the news they got on the bus on their way to Husky Soccer Stadium that Folarin Balogun would, in a stunning turn of events, be available to face Belgium in the Round of 16, his red card suspension suspended in an out-of-nowhere ruling from FIFA.<\/p>\n

\u201cLit,\u201d Chris Richards said of the reaction on the bus as the news went around.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be fair, we were lit on the bus regardless. We had our speaker in the back listening to music,\u201d Richards said. \u201cThen one person said something, another person said the same thing and nobody wanted to confirm it. It was pretty much right when we got here that we found out it was true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balogun himself knew, having been informed prior to boarding the bus. But evidently, he didn\u2019t say much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just saw a big smile on his face,\u201d Christian Pulisic said. \u201cI got to see him and dap him up after that. Knowing we\u2019re gonna have him around tomorrow, it helps so much. It\u2019s a big boost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because the team had yet to decide on Balogun\u2019s replacement, Pulisic said the news he would be available was unlikely to affect any plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course you have other guys filling in and trying to figure out what the lineup could look like, but we didn\u2019t have anything set,\u201d Pulisic said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like some crazy adjustment we need to make.\u201d<\/p>\n

In front of media, players mostly cast a reserved tone about the news, though Richards did say that \u201ca lot of us thought it was AI at first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just so happy that he\u2019s here with us,\u201d Alex Freeman said. \u201cBalo is such a talented player, so I\u2019m just happy he\u2019s able to come out and be a very impactful force.\u201d<\/p>

Read more US soccer fans, celebrities react to Folarin Balogun\u2019s red-card ban being lifted<\/a><\/p>\n

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The team itself seemingly found out Balogun would be available the way the rest of the world did: when news of the story first broke on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome guys were playing Clash Royale, some guys were in the back listening to music,\u201d Richards said. \u201cI think somewhere in between we all heard the reports, so that was cool.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Trump reacts to Folarin Balogun shocker as America celebrates USMNT star playing vs. Belgium<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

USMNT players were on the buss to practice when they found out Folarin Balogun was cleared to play in the World Cup Round of 16 vs. Belgium despite a red card suspension.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nHow USMNT players reacted to Folarin Balogun news on bus to practice: 'Thought it was AI' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3765\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How USMNT players reacted to Folarin Balogun news on bus to practice: 'Thought it was AI' - 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