Mauricio Pochettino, coach of the United States, ruled out that the controversy over the Folarin Balogun empowerment has affected his team’s performance in the 4-1 defeat against Belgium, a result that left the host out of the 2026 World Cup in the round of 16.
“The performances abroad were not a situation that affected us as a group,” said the Argentine coach at a press conference in Seattle.
Pochettino explained that the main problem was his team’s lack of connection with the development of the match.
“We were never connected to the game (…) we never followed the flow of the game, even when we scored 1-1, in the next action we conceded a goal that we should not have conceded,” he said.
“It wasn’t an excuse.”
The coach also refused to use the Balogun case as justification for the elimination. “It didn’t affect our performance. The performance was what it was and it wasn’t an excuse. We don’t have to look for them, it wasn’t our day,” he said.
Balogun was able to play against Belgium after FIFA suspended the execution of the sanction resulting from his expulsion against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a decision that sparked complaints from the Belgian Football Federation.
Pochettino defended that his role was limited to the sporting aspect. “My position was to coach the team and if Balogun is available because he has been allowed to play, it is not a problem,” he said.
“We weren’t good enough”
Beyond the controversy, the coach recognized the Belgian superiority and congratulated the rival for qualifying.
“It is difficult to make a comment, we were not good enough, we do not have to look for excuses: it was not our day, we did not have the performance that we should have or the qualities,” he stated.
Pochettino also assured that, despite the elimination, the United States left foundations for the future. “Improving and growing is not something that happens vertically. A year ago, before starting the World Cup, no one believed that we were going to get here and play against Belgium (…) we have improved a lot, but sometimes you go up and down, it is not a linear growth,” he explained.
Asked about its continuity, he avoided giving a definitive answer. “Now is not the time to talk. It is time to evaluate the tournament,” he concluded.