The US men's national team crashed out of the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup in devastating fashion, falling 4-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16. But according to soccer legend Megan Rapinoe, the defeat wasn't just about what happened on the pitch—it was about the political circus that preceded it.
Rapinoe, a two-time World Cup winner and outspoken advocate, appeared on The Daily Show and laid the blame squarely at the feet of President Donald Trump. Her critique centers on Trump's last-minute intervention to get Folarin Balogun reinstated for the knockout match after a red card suspension.
Balogun had been sent off in the Round of 32 win over Bosnia, but after a FIFA review—spurred by a phone call from Trump—the decision was reversed, and Balogun took the field against Belgium. It didn't help. The US was dominated from start to finish, and the team's early exit has sparked a fierce debate over whether the presidential meddling did more harm than good.
“It didn’t give them the boost, maybe, that they were thinking it would or that Trump was hoping that it would,” Rapinoe said. “It seemed like it kind of, like, threw them off their game.”
She described the team's pre-tournament energy as electric, built on an underdog mentality that the players had embraced. “They had, like, such a good vibe,” she added. “I feel like they had, like, the underdog kind of vibe going. And then you-know-who got involved, and everyone was like, nope. No. We don’t like it.”
The backlash wasn't limited to the US locker room. Rapinoe argued that Trump's involvement also fired up Belgium. “Obviously, Belgium was like, ‘No, we absolutely can’t lose to this team now,’” she noted.
Trump, for his part, has defended his role, insisting he merely asked for a review and didn't pressure FIFA. “All I did was ask for a review. I didn’t say, you have to do this,” Trump said at a White House briefing. He praised FIFA president Gianni Infantino as “a smart, tough man” and argued that “we have to have all the best players on the field.”
But the controversy has reopened old wounds for US soccer fans. The men's team hasn't reached the World Cup quarterfinals since 2002, and this latest failure—wrapped in political drama—has many wondering if the program is being held back by forces beyond the field.
Rapinoe's comments also echo a broader tension between the White House and the soccer world. Earlier this year, Melania Trump's $3,000 World Cup final outfit sparked debate, and the president has been a polarizing figure at international tournaments. For Rapinoe, the lesson is clear: sometimes the best thing a politician can do is stay out of the game.
As the US men's team heads home earlier than hoped, the finger-pointing has only just begun. Whether Trump's call helped or hurt may never be settled, but one thing is certain—the 2026 World Cup will be remembered as much for the politics as for the soccer.
