“I feel so disappointed with too many people,” Pochettino added. “They mix things, they put politics and manipulation and talk about ethics and integrity.”
Balogun accepted both the initial suspension and the reinstatement, acknowledging Belgium's superiority after the match.
“Belgium were a better team today,” he said. “They played much better than us.
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Today, we didn’t have a good game.”
Belgium's Perspective
Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia downplayed the controversy as a motivational factor, noting that his team's confidence stemmed from a 5-2 friendly victory over the US in March.
“With him on the field,” Garcia remarked, referring to Balogun's involvement in that friendly.
Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere echoed his manager, stating the team's motivation came from within.
“We spoke about it as a team for five minutes, it was not more than that,” he said.
However, midfielder Nicolas Raskin suggested some squad members viewed the administrative ruling as an extra incentive.
“I think there was always a justice somewhere in life,” Raskin said. “And today, I think it just brings us a little bit of luck.”
Team Focus Amid Distractions
US captain Tim Ream insisted the squad remained isolated from the legal proceedings and focused on the match.
“No, it had no impact,” Ream said. “We’ve done a good job with this group of allowing outside noise to be outside noise.”
Balogun acknowledged the long-term implications of the controversy, stating he would address the topic at the appropriate time.
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“The feeling of disappointment is very difficult to put into words,” he said. “Personally, the situation I’ve been involved in is also going to present different challenges.”
