USA vs Belgium live: Balogun starts for co-hosts after Trump’s red-card intervention

Belgium’s De Bruyne, Lukaku and Doku all start on ​the bench

Some surprising calls by Belgium coach Rudy Garcia.

The starting XI: Thibaut Courtois, Brandon Mechele, Maxim De Cuyper, Youri Tielemans, Leandro Trossard, ⁠Charles De Ketelaere, Timothy Castagne, Nathan Ngoy, ⁠Nicolas Raskin, ​Amadou Onana, Dodi Lukebakio

Balogun named in US starting lineup

Balogun, ⁠USMNT’s leading scorer at the tournament on three, spearheads the ​US attack alongside Christian ‌Pulisic.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino selects Matt Freese to start in goal, ‌with the starting XI unchanged from the Bosnia match.

The lineup: Matt Freese, Sergino ​Dest, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, ​Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream, ​Alex Freeman, Malik Tillman, Folarin Balogun.

Rubio weighs in

Here’s what the top US diplomat had to say earlier about the Balogun row.

Integrity of World Cup questioned after Trump secures Balogun reprieve

Football leaders have questioned the World Cup’s integrity after FIFA lifted Balogun’s suspension in an extraordinary move.

The furor has centered on a phone call that President Donald Trump made last week to FIFA head Gianni Infantino to make the case that the US striker should not have been shown a red card during last week’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

European football body UEFA said FIFA “crossed a red line” and called the decision by FIFA’s disciplinary committee “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”

Trump has taken credit for getting FIFA to review the foul, but said he did not demand an outcome.

Welcome to our liveblog

Co-hosts USA take on Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 in just over an hour, with striker Folarin Balogun in the hosts’ starting lineup after his red-card suspension was lifted by FIFA in a decision that sparked outrage across the sport.

Whoever wins this match will go on to face Spain on Friday at Inglewood, California, for a semi-final berth against France or Morocco.

Kick-off is at 5pm in Seattle, 7pm EST and 2am in Brussels.