We all remember during the World Cup where U.S. men's national team striker Folarin Balogun had a red card suspension rescinded under nefarious circumstances. But despite the questionable red card, Balogun at least made contact with Bosnia's Tarik Muharemovic.
The same can't be said for USMNT U-20 defender Chris Applewhite. He received a straight red card without even touching the opponent on the other end of the tackle.
The USMNT U-20 lost Sunday's CONCACAF U-20 championship, 2-0, to Mexico at Estadio Azteca. And the match completely changed when the U.S. squad was reduced to 10 men amid the most puzzling of red cards.
USMNT u20 player Chris Applewhite just received a red card for a tackle in which he made no contact with the Mexican player. pic.twitter.com/cujFbhPyqa
— USMNTTAKES (@USMNTTAKES) August 9, 2026
While Applewhite did go in recklessly towards Mexico's Hugo Camberos, the U.S. player completely missed making contact. Camberos seemingly leaped over Applewhite's tackle and sold the contact.
Worst of all: The play went to VAR and still resulted in a red card.
Mexico was up 1-0 at the time and added to the lead in the 69th minute.
Though the USMNT U-20 would have loved to go home with a trophy, the result wasn't too costly. The U.S. already qualified for the 2028 Olympics as hosts and it qualified for the U-20 World Cup by making the semifinal.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: USMNT U-20 player received a crucial red card despite no contact with Mexico player
