I know the United States Men’s National Soccer Team played atrociously against Belgium and is now eliminated from the 2026 World Cup. But it is possible to lose the battle and still win the war.
Listen up you scarf-clutching, stadium-chanting, Euro snobs. While the soccer world fixated on that overturned red card to Folarin Balogun, President Trump delivered a clinic in raw power, and Europe didn’t even realize they lost the match before it even started.
The facts are simple. Balogun gets a harsh red in our win over Bosnia. Automatic one-game ban. After all rules are rules, right? Then Trump picks up the phone, calls FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, and suddenly FIFA bends its own rules using some dusty clause nobody’s seen in years. Balogun plays against Belgium whilst the Europeans scream political interference, pull down their tight colorful jerseys, and cry about the integrity of the game.
Cry harder, ladies. This wasn’t about one red card. This was about dominance, pure and simple. Trump didn’t just fix a bad call, rather he reminded the entire world who actually is in charge. Europe loves to lecture us about culture, climate, borders, diversity, and fair play, yet their sacred international soccer body snapped to attention the second the American president spoke. One phone call and the facade of superiority fell to the wayside.
Voila! How does that Buc-ee's brisket taste now, blokes? How does that salty cleat dipped in ranch go down, lads? While Europeans were busy sipping their lukewarm Newcastle Brown and endless refills of soda, we just demonstrated to all the elite gastronomical experts that our pub food is superior to anything Europeans have on their menus back home. Those fancy chefs and food critics can’t stop raving about our brisket, our ranch, our real American flavor. Half of them are already scheming how to smuggle some back on the plane with them. Bon appétit!
The same continent whose militaries hide behind our defense umbrella and whose economies depend on our massive consumer market just watched their own governing body bow like trained monkeys. This was soft power and hard power in unison, in perfect synchronicity, veritable cultural dominance on full display for the entire planet to see. We don’t beg, we don’t plead, we don’t play by your dusty traditions when they hurt us. We exert our will, we direct traffic, and the world adjusts its perspective. Those who travel tell how their preconceptions and misguided narratives prepared them for crime-ridden America ... now they will go back and tell the others just how wrong they were.
FIFA, that supposed neutral global body, just proved once and for all that it answers to American power when it matters. The Euro press melted down, Belgium’s federation was astonished, and the UEFA spooned with its rulebook like it was going to save them. Too late, my continental cousins, the precedent is set. When America speaks, even your precious little game minds our orders.
We may have dropped the result on the pitch, but we won the battle that actually matters, the one which proves who holds the cards in this so-called global sport. Europe thought soccer was the one thing they still owned, but sadly they discovered it’s ours now too. Whatever you do, we can do better.
Trump showed Machiavellian dominance wrapped in misdirection. It's the old shell game. Everyone obsessed over the red card while the real victory was America proving, once again, that when push comes to shove, the world still dances to our tune, both on the pitch and at the dinner table. The Euro-elites can whine about integrity all they want. Deep down they know the truth: power is power.
Let them eat their croissants in the stark, pale light of this dystopian reality.
Troy Carico is a former infantry enlisted soldier (11B) and infantry officer with branch qualifications including counterintelligence (35E) and military intelligence (35D). He served with distinction in the U.S. Army for more than 22 years and is highly decorated and service-connected disabled. He also has prior service as a civilian intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency Great Skills Program and has served in numerous clandestine assignments throughout the world. You can find him on X @CaricoTroy, LinkedIn @Troy Carico, and Substack.
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