Belgium coach Rudi Garcia has claimed his team have gained 'millions and millions' of new supporters following Donald Trump's lobbying of Fifa to overturn Folarin Balogun's red card, and that they will draw 'incredible strength' from this ahead of their World Cup quarter-final against Spain. Garcia also expressed faith in his squad despite widespread expectations of defeat, highlighting the impact of substitute Romelu Lukaku, who makes opponents 'quake in their boots'.
Trump's intervention and Balogun saga
Trump boasted that he had phoned Fifa to suspend Balogun's ban after the striker received a direct red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fifa's unprecedented decision to suspend the ban for a year preceded Belgium's 4-1 victory over the USA in the round of 16. After the match, the Belgian football federation's social media accounts declared 'overturn this' and players celebrated by parodying Trump's dance style. Garcia confirmed he spoke to Balogun, telling him he could not be blamed for Trump's lobbying or Fifa's decision.
The victory means Belgium will face Spain at Los Angeles Stadium, where an estimated 80,000 fans will largely support the co-hosts. Garcia insisted his team is ready, having already overcome a hostile reception against the USA in Seattle. 'The conditions will only be as difficult as they were in the round of 16,' Garcia said. 'We had 12 million Belgium fans and now, over the last few days, I think we have millions and millions behind us; they have joined our ranks and I think that will be great.'
Garcia's confidence in the squad
Garcia acknowledged Spain's strength, calling them 'one of the favourites' with a formidable record of not conceding a goal. However, he noted that 'statistics are there to be broken' and pointed out that Belgium is the second-highest scoring team at the World Cup. 'Everyone is talking about us going home but we can do it,' he added. 'Maybe some are discovering our team now but I know them off by heart. I know their character and what they can do.'
Garcia emphasized the depth of his squad, stating he has 'two XIs: one that starts the game and one that finishes it' and highlighted the bench's quality, including 'one of the best strikers of all time' in Romelu Lukaku. The coach joked that Lukaku was pretending to be a substitute when he might start, but the striker has embraced his role.
Lukaku's impact and statistics
Lukaku, the country's all-time leading scorer with 93 goals for Belgium, has started only one game at the tournament but has scored three times and provided an assist, averaging a goal every 50 minutes. His international strike rate is faster than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Only Ronaldo, Messi, Ali Daei (Iran), and Sunil Chhetri (India) have more international goals.
Lukaku explained his readiness: 'I had a chat with the coach in April and he said I had to be prepared for a certain role. I said 'OK' and here we are. Everything is going well and we are going to continue like this.' He added, 'If you get this far you're not going to just play to go home. We need to play the perfect game tomorrow.'
