Pochettino expressed gratitude that his starting forward would be available to face the Belgian defense.
"This has happened in the past. It’s not something extraordinary that has only happened for us.
… And we’ve seen many players in this World Cup that were not punished, and I’m happy for this because it would have been unfair," he added.
In contrast, Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia expressed astonishment and heavily criticized the ethical implications of FIFA's ruling.
"We’re not defending the national team or federation, we are defending football," said Garcia.
Garcia further questioned the timing and logic behind the disciplinary reversal through a translator.
"I didn’t know that in the offices of FIFA, the 5th of July was the 1st of April in Europe," he said.
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The Belgian manager emphasized that the ruling sets a damaging precedent for international football tournaments.
"The Belgian federation does not defend itself; it does not protect the national team. She defends football in general.
She defends her integrity, her ethics.
I think it’s the first time in the history of the World Cup that there is this kind of decision," said Garcia.
Match Outlook
According to Al Jazeera, the Opta supercomputer gave the USA a 37.2 percent likelihood of victory in regulation time, compared to 36.5 percent for Belgium, with a 26.3 percent probability of extra time.
The high-stakes clash at Seattle Stadium represents a rematch of the 2014 round of 16 game, where Belgium defeated the U.
