SEATTLE — After a successful card trick that made Folarin Balogun’s suspension disappear, the United States will try to win back-to-back World Cup knockout games for the first time and reach its first quarterfinal since 2002.Coach Mauricio Pochettino figures to have his top-choice lineup available Monday when the Americans — ranked 17th in the world ahead of the tournament — face No. 9 Belgium in a rematch of the 2014 round of 16 game in Brazil, won 2-1 by the Red Devils in extra time.“They have a lot of players that can hurt you, and we have to be ready,” Christian Pulisic, the top American star, said Sunday. “We have to clinical in a lot ways.”At stake is a quarterfinal berth against Spain or Portugal and the chance to play France or Morocco in a semifinal.Belgium overcame a two-goal, 86th-minute deficit to defeat Senegal 3-2 over extra time in the round of 32. The Red Devils beat the U.S. 12 years ago on goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, and again 5-2 in a March friendly at Atlanta.“We’re two very different teams now than we were in March,” U.S. captain Tim Ream said.Belgium isn’t giving much weight to this year’s earlier meeting.“That 2-5 against the U.S. in March gives a distorted picture,” defender Maxim De Cuyper said. “It could have ended differently.”A sellout crowd of 66,000-plus is expected at Lumen Field, where the asking price Sunday for seats in the Hawks Nest triangle above the northern end ranged from $1,840 to $8,050 on FIFA’s resale site.A huge, red-white-and-blue-clad, pro-American crowd serenaded the team with John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” after the 2-0 group stage win over Australia on June 19. The fan base is known for supporters’ pregame march down Occidental Avenue to the stadium before Seattle Sounders games.“The 12th men, how is called here,” Pochettino said.After losing their group stage final to Turkey 3-2 on a stoppage-time goal, the Americans entered the knockout rounds with a 10-game, four-year losing streak to European opponents. The U.S. beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 on goals by Balogun and Malik Tillman for just its second World Cup knockout stage win.Balogun is eligible to play after FIFA suspended his su …
