THE ten men of USA beat Bosnia 2-0 in San Francisco to book their place in the last 16 of the World Cup.
USA recorded their first knockout win since 2002 and just their second ever despite Folarin Balogun’s red card.
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Folarin Balogun celebrates scoring the first goal of the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina Credit: AP
Malik Tillman celebrates scoring a free kick against Bosnia and Herzegovina Credit: FIFA via Getty Images
Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic celebrate USA’s win in San Francisco Credit: AP
USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino was all smiles after the victory Credit: EPA
They did so in front of a raucous home crowd in the Bay Area – and next face Belgium on Monday night in Seattle.
USA were fired up by an epic rendition of the national anthem and a flyover.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men opened up the game with the same script he used in the group stage.
Slow and steady buildup play was the name of the game, with the US biding its time on on offense looking for a chance.
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But it was Bosnia that found the first real chances of the game, nearly scoring from a goal kick in the ninth minute before almost doing so again from a corner.
The US survived those scares and regained possession, which they held firm control of until the first hydration break.
Poch’s side continued to control the tempo of the game and finally got their chance in the 31st minute, which Balogun slotted into the bottom right corner of the net, but he was ruled to be just barely offside.
He got his shot at redemption in the 45th minute, after a deflected pass from Malik Tillman made its way to Balogun’s foot and he put it under the keeper for the opening goal of the match.
Balogun nearly scored another eight minutes into injury time, but he missed just over the top of the net on a ball that he should’ve converted.
The first half came to a close 1-0, with the US fully dominating but likely going to the locker room wishing they were up by more.
Falorin Balogun gave USA the lead Credit: Reuters
He was later sent off for a foul in the second half Credit: AP
Balogun will miss the game against Belgium on Monday in Seattle Credit: Reuters
Malik Tillman scored a second goal for USA to seal the victory Credit: AP
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Bosnia and Herzegovina looked to regain some momentum in the second half with a big sequence of subs.
In the 51st minute, Ermin Mahmic replaced Edin Dzeko at striker, Benjamin Tahirovic replaced Ivan Jattvibejic at center midfield, and Esmir Bajraktarevic replaced Armin Gigovic at outside midfield.
And the fresh legs certainly helped the Bosnian attack, which found its way near the American goal for the first time in the second half after those substitutions.
They were further energized by a red card being handed to Balogun on what looked like a completely unintentional clash.
Regardless, the decision was made and the US was left to play with 10 men for the remainder of the night.
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The US had to go extremely defensive from then on out, but still had opportunities to score.
And Christian Pulisic appeared to give the US some breathing room in the 79th minute, but he was quickly ruled offside.
But Malik Tillman would immediately pick his teammate up by scoring a wonder of a free kick in the 82 minute.
He curled the ball from outside the box right over the Bosnian wall and past the keeper’s outstretched arm for maybe the goal of the tournament.
And that was all the US needed to seal the their first knockout stage win since 2002.
