Balogun, who has scored three goals in three starts for the USA, was shown a straight red card following a VAR intervention in the round of 32 tie earlier this week, but on Sunday, FIFA announced that the suspension had been lightened to a one-year probationary period following the use of Article 27 by FIFA's disciplinary committee.
Belgium's manager, who spoke before Pochettino on Sunday, likened it to an 'April Fool's Day' joke, whilst his national association said they were 'astonished' and didn't rule out legal action in a statement.
This is just the second time a player has been reinstated following a straight red at a World Cup; the first time it has happened since 1962, the player at that time was Brazil's Garrincha, whilst FIFA's decision to shorten Cristiano Ronaldo's three-match ban earlier this year has also been used as precedence.
Pochettino argued that his side had already suffered enough against Bosnia by going down to 10 men, and that the decision was 'completely unfair'.
He stated: "My reaction is like everyone, I really love the sport and trust the ethics and integrity. We celebrate this decision. We were punished enough against Bosnia to play 30 minutes with 10 men. It was completely unfair. I need to defend my side, it is, 99.9%, we all agree it was an unfair red card.
"I think we need to celebrate, it is fair, the decision. We don't need to punish more, it was enough."
He added later: "It’s very good for football. It opens up the possibility to repair a little bit the bad decisions."
Pochettino revealed he had no involvement in the process to overturn the ban, but admitted the national federation had been working hard behind the scenes.
He added: "I wasn’t involved, I found out today before training.... No more process, the federation, for sure, was working really hard, to try and defend our situation. I was not involved, I was focused to face Belgium."
Reports emerged from multiple sources on Sunday that the US president Donald Trump organised a delegation to argue for Balogun's reinstatement, even reportedly calling FIFA to get the decision changed.
The president also sent a post out on TruthSocial thanking FIFA and reversing the 'injustice'.
When asked about the president's interest in the national team, Pochettino answered: "That is the power of the sport, that is amazing. I am from a different culture and federation where they say the president called and said the president want to be involved - it’s not surprised me.
"I come from Argentina and Europe, where football is more than a religion. It is not surprising to me, that in this country, that feeling is starting to grow so quick. For sure, if we keep going and pushing, maybe there is more tomorrow.
"This sport is magic, it is so powerful, it unites people, it unites a country like us... When we sing Country Road, the people are behind one idea. It's so powerful, this sport is by far - and baseball too."
The two sides met in a friendly back in March, with Belgium running out convincing 5-2 winners. Pochettino believes his side have improved since then, and is hopeful that they can go another step further with their starting striker back in contention - by hook or by crook.
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Josh Donaldson is a Global Senior Editor and International Football Specialist for Flashscore. From the UK, now living in Prague, Josh specialises in football and cycling and can be found at an obscure ground watching games or on his bike. You can follow Josh on X and read his articles here.
