The United States overcame second-half adversity to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 on Wednesday night, taking only second FIFA World Cup knockout-stage victory in the country’s history despite playing the last 26 minutes with 10 men after Folarin Balogun’s controversial red card.Balogun opened the scoring with his third goal of the tournament before being sent off midway through the second half, but Malik Tillman produced a stunning late free-kick to seal a memorable Round of 32 victory and send the hosts into the last 16 of the expanded 48-team tournament.The win sets up a thrilling clash against Belgium in Seattle on Monday as Mauricio Pochettino’s side continue their dream of a deep World Cup run on home soil.
Balogun was glowing before the red card drama
The United States went into the game as favourites, but survived an early scare after goalkeeper Matt Freese made two key saves to deny Ermedin Demirovic, while Kerim Alajbegovic also threatened from a corner.As the hosts settled in, Balogun took center stage.The striker had a goal ruled out for offside and appealed for penalties on two separate occasions before finally breaking the deadlock before halftime. Tim Ream controlled possession near midfield before Malik Tillman slipped a clever pass into the box, allowing Balogun to slide a left-footed finish past Nikola Vasilj for his third goal of the tournament.The strike left him just one goal shy of Bert Patenaude’s long-standing record of four goals by an American player in a World Cup, set in 1930. Balogun celebrated with his version of LeBron James’ iconic “Silencer” move, which earned an approving reaction from the NBA superstar.However, the night changed in the 64th minute. Balogun was shown a straight red card after a challenge on Tarik Muharemovic, forcing the hosts to play the remainder of the contest to a man.
Tillman sealed the famous victory
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the Americans remained composed defensively and thwarted Bosnia’s attempts to find an equalizer.The decisive moment came in the 82nd minute when Tillman grabbed a brilliant free-kick from outside the penalty area. Vasilj managed to get a hand on the effort but could only help it into the net as Levi’s Stadium erupted in celebration.The win ended a miserable run against European opposition at the World Cup. The United States has failed to beat a European team in the tournament since defeating Portugal in 2002 and has gone 13 World Cup meetings without a win, including a heartbreaking extra-time loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 in 2014.It also snapped a 10-game winless streak against European opponents at the World Cup and marked just the second knockout-stage win in US men’s World Cup history after the famous 2002 Round of 16 victory over Mexico. The Americans had previously reached the semifinals of the inaugural 1930 edition after topping their group before the knockout format was introduced.Bosnia, on the other hand, left with a lot of pride after reaching the knockout rounds for the first time in their second World Cup appearance, drawing with Canada and defeating Qatar during the group stage.