Tielemans: FIFA's Balogun Red-Card U-Turn Lit the Fire That Burned USA

COUNTY KILDARE, Ireland -- Youri Tielemans has revealed the chaos around Folarin Balogun's red-card U-turn didn't just fail to derail Belgium -- it poured rocket fuel straight into their World Cup campaign.

FIFA stunned the football world by clearing Balogun to play in the Round of 16, wiping out the red card he picked up against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The intervention came after a personal request from Donald Trump for FIFA to review the ban, and it had UEFA screaming that FIFA crossed a "red line."

How did Belgium respond? By putting the United States to the sword with a dominant 4-1 victory.

And according to Tielemans, that statement performance was powered by a quiet sense of injustice.

"Yeah, I think that is part of the game, you know," said the Manchester United midfielder. "The celebrations afterwards were nice and funny and it was all good. We were surprised by the decision to revert the red card and his suspension. Now, for us, it did not really change anything other than the preparation leading up to the game because it is a different type of player than the other player that was meant to play. But other than that, we were very calm and we just accepted our fate and tried to have a good game."

Cruel End To A Brutal Season

Tielemans' own World Cup dream was cut short when a late injury ruled him out of Belgium's quarterfinal against Spain -- the team that would go on to win the whole thing. The 29-year-old had already battled through an injury-plagued season, sitting out two long spells between September and November, then again from January to April.

"The thing is, at the World Cup, I think we played 120 minutes against Senegal, and from there we had less time in between games," he said. "So we played the U.S. I think three or four days later, and then three days later we played against Spain. In the warm-up, my body just switched off for some reason."

Tielemans is far from the type to beg for rest. "I do not think I am a player that I absolutely need a rest. Obviously, there are a lot of games and the manager needs to manage the team, but when I am good, I am good, you know," he added. "Unfortunately, my body is, when it does not go well, then I will know straight away and I will alert the manager, but it does not happen often."

Now fully fit and training with his new Manchester United teammates in Ireland, Tielemans is in line to make his second preseason appearance when the Red Devils face Leeds United in Dublin on Wednesday. Mason Mount is reportedly a doubt for that one, but Tielemans' presence should give United fans plenty of reasons to smile.