Marcelo Balboa would have preferred a face-to-face meeting and not by email
Marcelo Balboa did not agree with the ways in which the United States informed the call to its players for the 2026 World Cup
After the USMNT announced the official list of 26 called up for the 2026 World Cup in a discreet way, unlike other teams, the former North American World Cup player in 1994, Marcelo Balboa criticized the ways of informing the players of their participation in the World Cup.
This was stated exclusively in the Tiempo Extra edition of La Opinión, the leader of the North American team from 32 years ago under the command of Serbian coach Bora Milutinovic, who stated that he would have preferred to be told in front of the reasons why yes or no of a World Cup call.
"All coaches have to do it as they feel comfortable. I can't give an opinion because I'm not a coach. I like face to face with a coach. If you're going to cut me today, I want to know it man by man, player by coach; tell me why I'm not here.
Eye to eye But I want to know why, I want to ask him why. Explain to me why, for what, so that I have that for the next World Cup, because I want to be in that World Cup,” highlighted the strong defender of that World Cup team from 32 years ago.
Balboa was asked about the reasons why the United States did not spectacularly announce its World Cup list unlike other teams that published their rosters through colorful videos and the Americans through a press conference to explain the calls.
"Maybe because the list came out a week ago, someone let it out and that's when everything changed on this day that was going to be special, because I didn't know who was on the list. I thought I was looking at my list of 26, to choose the right one and those that weren't going to be there and then the bad luck that someone let it out and it changed the whole panorama of a day that had to be special."
Balboa said that it would have been better for the players to find out directly and not by email as ultimately happened and that changed the entire landscape of the North American national team's announcement.
"The explanation is something important for a player too. But, as I said, look, each coach has to be how they feel, how they feel comfortable, and this time it was by email. It's okay, as a player I would have liked it to be face to face," he concluded.