CHICAGO (WLS) -- The largest World Cup in tournament history has ended.
Chicagoans had to watch from the sidelines.
Despite being one of the country's most passionate soccer cities, Chicago did not host a single World Cup match.
But the world's biggest soccer stars played throughout North America this summer.
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Folarin Balogun's one-game ban was suspended by FIFA on Sunday, allowing the forward to play in the United States' World Cup round of 16 game against Belgium on Monday.
Balogun, who leads the Americans with three goals, received a red card for stepping on the foot of Tarik Muharemovi of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday.
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Fans looking to buy World Cup tickets or merchandise are being warned to watch out for scams as criminals take advantage of the tournament's popularity.
Consumer Investigator Jason Knowles and the ABC7 I-Team reported that scammers are targeting consumers searching for tickets, jerseys and other World Cup-related items online. One security group has seen a recent 320% increase in malicious websites tied to the event.
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The U.S. men's national team secured a spot in the 2026 World Cup round of 16 after a shutout victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday, but the Americans will take the pitch against Belgium without one of the team's key goal scorers, Folarin Balogun.
In the 64th minute of the match at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, the striker, who scored the first goal in the 45th minute, clashed with Bosnia's Tarik Muharemovic and was shown a red card for a play that was initially not called a foul.
The contact had prompted the video assistant referee (VAR) to recommend an on-field review and eventually Balogun was issued a red card for serious foul play and automatically suspended for one game.
FIFA confirmed to ABC News that the call by the referee on the field is final and not able to be overturned or appealed.
Folarin Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup before being sent off with a red card in the second half, and Malik Tillman converted on a free kick to give the 10-man United States squad a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday night to advance to the round of 16.
Balogun dominated the first half with his goal and several other chances that helped the U.S. control the match early but the Americans had to scramble down a man after his foul against Tarik Muharemovic in the 64th minute.
Tillman helped seal the win when he scored on a free kick from just outside the box in the 82nd minute with a shot off the hand of goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.
That gave the U.S. just its second World Cup knockout round win. The Americans made it to the semifinals in the first tournament in 1930 by winning their group and won a round of 16 matchup against Mexico in 2002.
The win over Bosnia in the round of 32 in this year's expanded tournament sets up a matchup on Monday in Seattle against Belgium as the U.S. hopes to make a deep run on home soil.
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