07/01/26 10:33:00
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07/01 22:31 CDT U.S. beats Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to round of 16 and
keep its World Cup dreams alive
U.S. beats Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to round of 16 and keep its World
Cup dreams alive
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) --- Folarin Balogun scored his third goal of the World
Cup before being sent off with a red card in the second half, and Malik Tillman
converted on a free kick to give the 10-man United States a 2-0 win over
Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday night to advance to the round of 16.
Balogun dominated the first half with his 45th-minute goal, 14 minutes after he
put the ball in the net but was called for offside. The Americans had to
scramble down a man after his foul against Tarik Muharemovic in the 64th minute.
Star Christian Pulisic had a goal disallowed for offside in the 78th minute and
Tillman helped seal the win when he scored on a free kick from just outside the
box in the 82nd with a shot off a hand of goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.
"We had to dig deep for that one," Pulisic said. "It didn't go exactly to plan
with the red card, but that just shows what a good team we are. We said in the
hydration break, you know, this is what it takes to be a really strong team.
And, we were able to do it."
The Americans gained just their second World Cup knockout round win. They made
it to the semifinals in the first tournament in 1930 by winning their group and
won a round of 16 matchup against Mexico in 2002.
The win over Bosnia in the round of 32 in this year's expanded tournament sets
up a matchup on Monday in Seattle against Belgium as the U.S. hopes to make a
deep run on home soil. The Red Devils beat the U.S. 2-1 in extra time at the
2014 round of 16.
Balogun leads the U.S. with three goals, but will miss the Belgium match
because of an automatic suspension for the red card, assessed by Brazilian
referee Raphael Claus after a video review. Balogun stepped on an ankle of
Tarik Muharemovic, apparently not intentionally.
"For me? Never a red card," said Mauricio Pochettino, the first U.S. coach with
three World Cup wins.
Balogun matched Landon Donovan in 2010 for the second-most goals by an American
in a World Cup, behind only Bert Patenaude's four in the initial tournament in
1930.
"Of course he's a great player," Tillman said. "We have great players who can
replace him, and give the best they can, and hopefully score some nice goals as
well."
Tillman changed his right boot just before scoring the first U.S. World Cup
goal on a free kick since Eric Wynalda in the 1994 opener against Switzerland.
Tillman had a bloody sock around his big toe.
"You never know when it's going to happen. Today, it happened," he said.
The game was played less than 20 miles from the site of the first U.S. knockout
round game of the modern era when the Americans lost 1-0 to heavily favored
Brazil at Stanford Stadium in 1994.
The U.S. was favored this time around for the first time on record in a
knockout round match and didn't let down the large contingent of
red-white-and-blue clad fans at Levi's Stadium who were chanting "U-S-A!
U-S-A!" in the closing minutes.
The win snapped a 10-game losing streak for the U.S. against European teams
dating to a tie against England in the 2022 World Cup. The Americans had lost
seven games and tied six against European nations since beating Portugal in
their 2002 opener.
The U.S. had started fast in the group stage matches by scoring in the first 15
minutes of all three games. But it was Bosnia that had the better chances early
with Matt Freese needing to make two saves early to stop Ermedin Demirovic
following a deceptive goal kick that caught the U.S. defense napping and then
again on the ensuing corner kick that Kerim Alajbegovic almost scored on
directly.
Balogun took over from there, having one apparent goal called off for offside,
being knocked down in the box on two other opportunities and then finally
delivering in the 45th minute. Tim Ream intercepted a Bosnia goal kick at
midfield and then Tillman found Balogun in the box. He slid the left-footed
shot past Vasilj.
Balogun punctuated the goal with his version of the LeBron James Silencer
celebration, drawing a positive reaction from King James himself.
"We considered a goal through our mistakes," Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez said
through a translator. "Unfortunately things like that happen but at this level
they are immediately punished."
Balogun nearly scored again in first-half stoppage time but his shot from in
close deflected off the cross bar and out of play.
Bosnia's second World Cup trip was a success with a draw against Canada in the
opener and a win over Qatar that helped the team advance to the knockout round
for the first time.
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