Santa Clara,jul 2
Following his side’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in their FIFA World Cup round of 32 clash, US head coach Mauricio Pochettino said that Flo Balogun should not have got a red card, saying that his tackle with Tarik Muharemovic was an “accident”.Balogun was absolutely magical on the field, creating multiple chances, having multiple touches in the opposition’s box and scoring a goal. However, in the second half, he got a red card for planting his foot on Tarik Muharemovic’s ankle and was sent off. Now, as per FIFA’s mandate, after receiving a red card, he will miss one match due to suspension, the clash against Belgium for a slot in the quarterfinals, scheduled for July 7, 5:30 am IST.Speaking to the reporters after the match, Pochettino said as quoted by Reuters, “Never was this a red card. Watching it on TV, never was there intention to step on the player.””That was a normal action in football. That happened by accident, and it is never intentional. That is why for me it was never a red card,” he added.The coach also said that Balogun was feeling sad and disappointed in the dressing.”But he is also happy because we qualified… He needs to understand that this type of situation happens. I hope that, for sure, he is going to be able to help us again. I hope that we go to the next round,” he added.On his team’s win, their first win in a FIFA World Cup knockout game since the 2002 edition, where they made it to the quarterfinals, the US head coach said that it is “difficult to describe our feeling”. “Because I think they were amazing, and there is no easy game in the World Cup. I think the maturity of the team is amazing in the way that we are growing in the last five to six weeks,” he added.
