With heart and soul! The United States team defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco and sealed their ticket to the round of 16 of the World Cup 2026 of which it is host, in which it will face Belgium, which in turn miraculously eliminated Senegal (3-2).
With goals from the New York striker Folarin Balogun and the brave midfielder Malik Tillman, the “Stars and Stripes Team” beat the Bosnians and fuels the dream of glory in the greatest soccer tournament that paralyzes the planet.
Thus, the US squad, well led by Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino, achieved the second victory in its history in a direct elimination phase of a FIFA World Cup.
The next challenge for the “USMNT” in the round of 8, and now without Balogun (sent off in the second half against Bosnia), will be to counter Belgium’s World Cup hierarchy in a prediction match scheduled to take place next Monday, July 6 (8 pm ET) in Seattle, which grants the winner a place in the quarterfinals.
«Two to zero» suffered and deserved
The United States went from euphoria at taking advantage of Balogun to despair when their center forward was sent off with a straight red card in the 64th minute, after stepping on a rival defender. A play without bad intention, rigorously sanctioned by the Brazilian referee Raphael Claus.
But the US endured this disadvantage, its players showed a lot of dedication and concentration to end up celebrating a great victory to the delirium of their fans in the stands and their fans gathered at public screenings of the game in several cities in the country.
Bosnia had escaped from 1-0 after half an hour, when “Team USA” recovered at the three-quarter line and Balogun struck down the goalkeeper with a great left-footed shot. The Monaco attacker received the pass when he was offside and the Levi’s Stadium had to interrupt the celebrations.
It was only a matter of time. Because Bosnia, in an attempt to slow down the pace of the match, made another error in ball delivery and this time the United States punished it. Tyler Adams played a vertical ball that, after two rebounds in the penalty area, Balogun took advantage of the situation to seal the 1-0 with a low touch.
New Yorker Balogun celebrated his third goal in this World Cup in the style of LeBron James, and minutes later, only the crossbar prevented him from scoring the double before the break.
Red to Balogun and scare
Balogun was experiencing the best moment of his career, but when the game seemed on track for the US, he committed an involuntary and dangerous foul against Tarik Muharemovic, stepping on his ankle, causing a spectacular twist. The referee checked him and showed him the red.
A new party began for the Americans. A trial of suffering in the face of Bosnia’s final push, which gave everything despite losing its great leader, 40-year-old striker Edin Dzeko, to injury.
The United States was scared by some Bosnian shots from the edge of the area, but in one of their transitions they got a free kick from the edge of the European area that Tillman converted with quality, in the 79th minute, to end the suffering.
It was the triumphant 2-0 that triggered the euphoria of Levi’s Stadium and sent the United States soccer team back to Seattle to face Belgium in the round of 8. at the end. A giant challenge for “The Everyone Team” that feels prepared to give more.
«After the red, we were talking about showing that we are a united team, that was the time to show it. The team demonstrated its ability to fight. I am very proud. The players are the heroes and deserve all the credit,” declared coach Pochettino in the press conference after the victory in Santa Clara.
Regarding his next rival: Belgium, he said that it is a team that he considers “full of quality” and with a coach like Rudi García whom he knows “very well.”
This is how they aligned
– United States (2): Matt Freese; Alex Freman, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson; Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman, Weston McKennie (Gio Reyna, m.98), Sergiño Dest (Sebastian Berhalter, m.87); Christian Pulisic (Ricardo Pepi, m.88), Folarin Balogun.
– Selector: Mauricio Pochettino (Argentine).
– Bosnia and Herzegovina (0): Nikola Vasilj; Stjepan Radeljić, Nikola Katic (Memic, m.75), Tarik Muharemovic, Sead Kolasinac (Tabakovic, m.75); Amar Dedić, Ivan Sunjic (Tahirovic, m.51), Armin Gigović (Bajraktarevic, m.51), Kerim Alajbegovic; Ermedin Demirovic, Edin Dzeko (Mahmic, m.51).
– Selector: Sergej Barbarez.
– Goals: 1-0, m.45: Balogun. 2-0, m.82: Tillman.
– Referee: Raphael Claus (BRA). He sent off Balogun with a direct red card (m.64) and warned Radeljic with a yellow card (m.79).
– Incidents: Match corresponding to the round of 32 of the World Cup played at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, in front of nearly 68,000 spectators.
(With a report from Andrea Montolivo, from EFE)
