In the hours after the U.S. secured its first victory in a World Cup knockout match in more than 20 years last Wednesday, the mood inside the White House was anything but celebratory. The game, held 2,400 miles away in Santa Clara, Calif., had been marred by a controversial red card for the Americans’ top scorer at this tournament, striker Folarin Balogun—and it meant he would be automatically suspended for the next match. That’s when senior Trump administration officials hatched a plan that would go down as one of the most audacious in the 96-year history of the World Cup. …

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