July 9, 2026

Coach Pochettino:

You blew the single greatest opportunity you ever will have as a coach and worse yet you failed not only your players but our country.

After President Trump intervened causing FIFA to overturn the ban on Balogun, you should have called a news conference and said the following.

Although I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the extraordinary efforts exerted in order to reverse the Red-Card ban on Balogun that now allows him to play in our next contest against Belgium, I am here to announce that he will not be playing in this game and we are honoring the initial call made on the pitch. While I believe the call was wrong, it nevertheless stands in the absence of outside influence and even the appearance of impropriety is bad for the game and our mutual association as footballers. Preserving the integrity and spirit of honest and fair competition is more important than winning under a cloud of doubt.

I’m genuinely curious if the thought of doing what I suggest ever crossed your mind?

Had you done this, you would have galvanized your role as a great coach while ensuring the positive impression the United States has made on the world. You would have taught your players a life lesson they would never forget while burnishing the credentials of what we are as Americans.

As it stands now, not only did we get our asses handed to us, but we appear to be bad sports that will go crying to daddy when things don’t go our way. Just think of the difference our loss to Belgium would have been if we had taken the high-road. Perhaps we still would have lost, but who knows, maybe accepting that Red-Card penalty might have energized players and fans and just maybe a different outcome, but even in defeat, had we done as I suggest, we would have been universally cheered in our defeat and respected for our sense of fair play.

I played an Olympic sport at a high level on 3-US teams, captained the team against Mexico and also served as an Executive in the national governing body authoring the sports successful application to the US Olympic Committee so I know and understand sports at the level you are coaching. That said, you failed to see the single most important moment in your tenure and because of that failure, you should resign.