This post was originally published on Politico.

BRUSSELS — When the United States faces Belgium in the World Cup’s round-of-16 match on Monday, the politically messy, self-effacing wannabe middle power will be eyeing revenge.

First, for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 remark that living in its capital, Brussels, was “like living in a hellhole,” the start of a still-ongoing diatribe about the impact of immigration on the European Union.

And second, for a controversial decision made Sunday night by the FIFA organizers to lift U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban — freeing him up to play against Belgium — that has sparked outrage in the small Western

Author: By Laurens Cerulus