Folarin Balogun of the United States men’s national team is eligible to play in its round of 16 match against Belgium following the suspension of his one-game red card ban, The Athletic reported Sunday.

The 25-year-old forward is the leading scorer for the United States with three goals. He scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 45th minute against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. However, he was tagged with a red card later in the 2-0 match, which triggered an automatic one-game suspension under FIFA World Cup rules.

The red card was a controversial one, with former soccer referees and other experts saying the play Balogun made on defender Tarik Muharemovic did not merit the penalty.

A red card or suspension cannot be appealed.

FIFA, however, posted this message to its website Sunday about its use of the rule book in the case: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one [1] year.”

U.S. Soccer issued its own statement in response to the action: “We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to complete tomorrow.

“Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle,?and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.”

This move is not unprecedented in this World Cup.

Before the start of the tournament last month, Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo faced a three-match suspension. Instead, he sat one match, with the other two suspended and converted to a one-year probation period.

Balogun scored twice for the Americans in their opener against Paraguay on June 11. He added a goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the knockout round Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif.

The United States will meet Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday in Seattle. The winner advances to the quarterfinals.

The U.S. has not reached that stage since 2002.

–Field Level Media

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ended a nearly two-year long winless streak and tightened up the F1 championship standings in the process Sunday, emerging victorious at the British Grand Prix.

The win was secured under caution, as Max Verstappen’s crash with four laps remaining put out the safety car, which enabled Leclerc to coast to victory without duress.

“I’m so, so happy,” Leclerc said. “It feels really good to be back on the top step.”

Leclerc had not won an F1 race since Oct. 20, 2024, the United States Grand Prix. He took home three victories that season on his way to a third-place finish.

Despite the recent dry spell, Leclerc has kept himself in the running, amassing enough points to net a fifth-place finish a season ago. The Monaco native is now running fourth in 2026, 71 points behind leader A.K. Antonelli.

“It’s not something I’ll think about just yet,” Leclerc admitted when asked about his team’s chances at finishing the season on top. “We’ll see at the end of the season.”

Antonelli’s lead on the field shrank considerably Sunday after the Italian suffered a suspension failure that took him from second with 11 laps to go all the way down to 16th.

The Mercedes driver checkered in ninth at the Silverstone Circuit but was handed a five-second penalty for running off circuit multiple times in an attempt to push his car past the finish line, leaving him points-free.

Mercedes teammate George Russell, fresh off a victory in Austria, cruised into second thanks to a decision to remain on old tires. In one race, Russell cut Antonelli’s lead in the standings from 43 points down to 25.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, who did break for new tires, landed in third place. The result matched the Ferrari driver’s current status in the standings, where he’s now seven points behind Russell.

That could be a best-case scenario for Hamilton, who is expected to be investigated for a yellow flag infringement.

McLaren’s Lando Norris finished in fourth, while Red Bull Racing’s Isack Hadjar rounded out the top five.

–Field Level Media

Mexico are returning Rolex watches given to them by American content creator Stevewilldoit.

The World Cup team received the gifts at its training base ahead of its round of 32 match versus Ecuador. Stevewilldoit, whose real name is Stephen Deleonardis, said in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel that the watches ranged from $30,000 to $90,000 and were worth $1 million overall.

At another point in the video, Deleonardis told the team when asked by midfielder Obed Vargas that he gifted them the watches because he lived in Mexico and bet $2 million that they’d beat Ecuador, which Mexico eventually did 2-0. Deleonardis also said the wager would result in a $1 million profit, which equals the value of the watches.

FIFA’s code of ethics states that only gifts of “symbolic or trvial value” are permitted, and that gifts are not permitted if they are offered or accepted “as a way of influencing” participants to violate the rules or create a conflict of interest.

Punishments for any violations of the rule can result in a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs ($12,500) and “a ban on taking part in any football-related

activity for a maximum of two years”.

Mexico posted on their social media channels that they mutually decided to give the watches back to Deleonardis. They also said the content creator, who has over 1.5 million YouTube subscribers, gifted the watches “on his own initiative”.

Mexico, who are co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, have yet to allow a goal in four matches. They’ll host their round of 16 match versus England at the Azteca Stadium on Sunday.

–Field Level Media