Balogun did not deserve a red card: USA coach questions referee's decision

United States coach Mauricio Pochettino launched a passionate defence of Folarin Balogun after the striker's controversial sending-off in the 2-0 World Cup round-of-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday.

In Short

• Balogun scored before being sent off, to miss the last-16 match vs Belgium
• Referee upgraded Balogun's yellow to a straight red after VAR review
• Christian Pulisic called the sending-off unfortunate and defended his teammate

United States coach Mauricio Pochettino strongly defended Folarin Balogun after the striker's controversial sending-off in the 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, insisting the forward "never" deserved a red card despite the hosts booking their place in the World Cup last 16 on Wednesday.

The victory secured the United States' first World Cup knockout win since 2002 and set up a last-16 clash against Belgium, but celebrations were tempered by the dismissal of Balogun, who will miss the tie after receiving an automatic one-match suspension.

Balogun had fired the Americans ahead just before half-time with his third goal of the tournament before being shown a straight red card in the 64th minute. The striker was initially booked after his foot landed on the ankle of Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic while challenging for the ball, but the decision was upgraded to a dismissal following a VAR review.

Pochettino was left furious, arguing the incident was accidental and should never have warranted a red card.

"For me, it was never a red card," the Argentine said after the match. "There was never any intention to step on the player. It was a normal action in football when you are fighting for the ball. Maybe in slow motion it looks worse, but it was never intentional."

Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez backed the referee's decision, but Pochettino remained unconvinced. "He is very disappointed because it was an unintentional action," Pochettino said of Balogun.

USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, FIFA World Cup: HIGHLIGHTS

"But he's also happy because we qualified. These things happen in football. I hope we go through to the next round because then he will be available to help us again."

Christian Pulisic also came to his teammate's defence, saying Balogun "didn't deserve the red card" and describing the decision as "unfortunate".

USA DIG DEEP TO REACH LAST 16

The sending-off could have derailed the hosts, but they responded with one of their most disciplined displays of the tournament to shut out Bosnia and seal a memorable victory.

Malik Tillman put the result beyond doubt with a superb free-kick after Balogun's dismissal, capping another influential display from the midfielder.

"It was amazing," Pochettino said of Tillman.

"Malik is an amazing player, full of talent. We knew he had the quality to score from that free-kick. I'm so happy for him."

Pochettino reserved his biggest praise for his team's resilience, saying their composure reflected the progress they had made over the course of the tournament.

"It's difficult to describe our feeling because the players were amazing," he said.

"There are no easy games at the World Cup. The maturity of this team and the way we have grown over the last five or six weeks has been incredible."

FIFA World Cup | FIFA World Cup Schedule | FIFA World Cup Points Table | Football News

- Ends