SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Folarin Balogun was still learning to walk the last time the U.S. won a knockout round game in a World Cup. On Wednesday, he helped lead the Americans to another with his goal in the waning seconds of the first half, sparking a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina that sends the team on to the round of 16 of this summer’s tournament.
The other goal came from Malik Tillman in the 82nd minute. The Americans have scored multiple goals in every game of the tournament for the first time ever, also setting a national record with 10 goals overall in the tournament.
The U.S. will face Belgium in the next round Monday in Seattle. Belgium advanced with a 3-2 win over Senegal in extra time.
Balogun wasn’t around to see the finish though, drawing a straight red card for stomping on the right ankle of Bosnian center back Tarik Muharemovic in the 61st minute, a foul Brazilian referee Raphael Claus confirmed in a video review. That not only forced the Americans to see Wednesday’s game out with just 10 players, but it also means Balogun, their best player in the tournament, will miss the round of 16 game against Belgium as well.
Balogun, who owes his spot on the team to the fact his pregnant mother was prevented from boarding a plane to London 25 years ago, forcing her to give birth to an American-citizen son in Brooklyn, put the U.S. in front just before the intermission. The sequence started with Bosnian defender Stjepan Radeljic sliding in front of a Tillman pass, deflecting it forward toward Muharemovic. But Muharemovic got his feet crossed, allowing the ball to carom to Balogun who did the rest, sweeping the ball into the net with his left boot from about 15 feet.
The goal was Balogun’s third of the tournament, tying him with Landon Donovan (2010) for most by an American in a single World Cup since 1930. The lead was the Americans’ first at halftime in a World Cup knockout game since 2002, when they beat Mexico in the round of 16.
Folarin Balogun and Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Amar Dedic in action during the first half.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
That score also made up for one Balogun lost to an offside call in the 31st minute. After taking a feed from Weston McKennie at the top of the box, Balogun dribbled around a defender as he entered the penalty area, then buried a left-footed shot into the back of the net. But the flag went up immediately.
The Americans lost another goal in the 79th minute when Christian Pulisic beat Bosnian keeper Nikola Vasilj after an impressive buildup on passes from McKennie and Tillman. But he was well offside.
Again, it mattered little with the U.S. getting that goal back three minutes later with Tillman bending a free kick from the top of the box off Vasilj’s gloved right hand and into the net.
During the second-half hydration break, Tillman had complained of problems with his right boot. A cleat was changed out and minutes later, Tillman used that foot to score the insurance goal.
Other than the red card to Balogun — the fifth ever by a U.S. player in a World Cup and the first since 2006 — Claus seemed to have little interest in controlling a game that grew increasingly physical as Bosnia struggled to neutralize the Americans’ superior speed. For much of the game, the players were also running in and out of shadows along the western touchline and both goalkeepers had to shade their eyes against glare from the cloudless late-afternoon skies.
Until Wednesday, the U.S. hadn’t beaten a European team in 13 tries, a slump that included draws with Wales and England in the 2022 World Cup and six losses in as many games under current coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The last UEFA country it did beat? Bosnia and Herzegovina, in December 2021.
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