Why yellow card rules are stopping Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards from playing for USMNT vs. Turkiye

Why yellow card rules are stopping Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards from playing for USMNT vs. Turkiye originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The FIFA World Cup‘s yellow card rules are impacting the United States in a major way on Thursday night.

When the USMNT takes on Turkiye in the final match of Group D play, the U.S. will be without at least four players due to caution surrounding potential suspensions.

Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson and Chris Richards are all expected to miss the match.

But for those a bit newer to the World Cup scene, it’s something that doesn’t make total sense, so we’re here to explain.

How do the yellow card rules work?

Any player who gets a yellow card in two of the first three matches is suspended for the match following the second yellow being given.

So if a player got a yellow in each of the first two matches, he’d miss the third group stage match.

But in this case, the U.S. didn’t have anyone that applied to. They did have four players with one yellow card.

If any of those four players got a yellow card against Turkiye, they’d be suspended for the Round of 32 matchup to start the knockout rounds. If they don’t get a second yellow before the Round of 32, though, their count resets.

Why aren’t Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Antonee Richardson and Chris Richards playing?

They all have one yellow card on their current count. Picking up one against Turkiye would keep them out of the Round of 32. 

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino decided, rightfully, not to risk them.

The USMNT has that luxury because they already clinched first place in Group D. Their result against Turkiye doesn’t matter for their bracket placement.

So they can avoid suspensions and allow depth players to get more minutes.

“It’s unnecessary to take a risk and to take another yellow card and not be available for the next stage,” Pochettino told reporters in the lead up to the Turkiye match. “An easy answer not to play with them from the beginning.”

It’s the right call, a simple one, and the U.S. will benefit from it when the knockout rounds arrive.