US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed regret for not being more involved in the decision to reinstate Folarin Balogun after his red card suspension was lifted ahead of a World Cup match against Belgium. The controversial situation led to negative attention and affected the US team's performance, resulting in a 4-1 loss to Belgium. Pochettino suggested that such decisions should be made by a smaller group with a focus on sporting common sense rather than political intervention.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Mauricio Pochettino, coach of the US men’s national team, expressed regret at not being more involved in the decision to appeal a red card received by star forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup. Balogun was suspended after receiving a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina but was allowed to play against Belgium due to interventions from the US Soccer Federation and President Donald Trump, who reportedly spoke with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. This unusual move drew criticism from Belgium and overshadowed what had been an otherwise positive tournament for the US team. After the suspension was lifted, the energy around the team changed significantly leading up to their match against Belgium in the round of 16. Balogun’s presence was crucial as he led the team with three goals during the World Cup.
Written for “Mauricio Pochettino Regrets Role” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino says he regrets not being “more involved” in the situation surrounding US forward Folarin Balogun at this summer’s World Cup.
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he → say → Cup
Balogun was given a red card after a challenge against Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemović, which by rule is accompanied with a one-game suspension.
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which → give → suspension
Balogun’s ban for the next game against Belgium was suspended after the US Soccer Federation and US president Donald Trump lobbied Fifa, with Trump saying that he personally placed a call to Fifa president Gianni Infantino to ask the ruling be reviewed.
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ruling → suspend → Infantino
Infantino maintains that the decision to reinstate Balogun was made independently by Fifa’s disciplinary committee.
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decision → maintain → committee
The entire affair cast a pall over what had been an otherwise positive tournament for the US to that point.
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what → cast → point
Belgium’s players and coaches said in the wake of it that it provided extra motivation ahead of the match.
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it → say → match
Balogun himself later spoke of having felt uncomfortable with the attention the situation placed upon him.
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situation → speak → him
Speaking with broadcaster Andrés Cantor, Pochettino said he was not involved in the decision – though in retrospect, he may have preferred to be.
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he → speak → retrospect
“Maybe I regret not having been more involved,” Pochettino said in the Spanish-language interview for Fútbol de Primera.
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Pochettino → regret → Primera
“In the situation that later generated all of the negativity afterwards.
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that → generate → negativity
Maybe I regret not having been more inside of that decision making process.
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I → regret → process
I wasn’t involved in that decision, to overturn the red card.
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I → involve → card
As a football person, I understand everything …
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I → understand → everything
Beyond whether we were right or not [about the call on the field], I think nobody understood how it happened.”
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it → think → field
The US were thoroughly outclassed by Belgium in the 4-1 loss, beaten badly in every phase of play.
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US → outclass → play
In his remarks to Cantor, Pochettino suggested that the backlash surrounding the Balogun situation actively contributed to the loss.
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backlash → suggest → loss
“As a football person,” said Pochettino, “where many times we have that emotional intelligence – [we know] that energy can change things.
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energy → say → things
I think that energy changed the minute that happened.
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that → think → ?
And by then, the game is played under different parameters, and that match was never a match where I believe the tactics, strategy, or selection of players would have changed the course of what happened during the game.”
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what → play → game
Pochettino also suggested that the group who participated in US Soccer’s efforts to get Balogun on the field against Belgium may have been too large for his liking.
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who → suggest → liking
“That’s something we’ve talked about internally,” said Pochettino.
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Pochettino → ’ → ?
“I think that these types of things have to be managed under a much more limited structure, a structure where decisions have to be made by very few people, where very few people manage these types of things.
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people → think → things
[Those decisions] should be strictly sporting and common sense, beyond whether a rule or a committee can say one thing or another.”
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rule → say → thing
Pochettino’s USMNT will face Peru in Orlando on Saturday before facing Chile, Mexico and Canada across the rest of this extended international window.
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USMNT → face → window
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