USAvBIH Recap: United States Men's National Team outlast Bosnia, advance to FIFA World Cup Round of 16

For the first time as favorites heading into a FIFA World Cup^TM knockout round match, a 10-man United States defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday in the Round of 32. Folarin Balogun scored on the brink of halftime to give the U.S. the lead before Malik Timman slammed the door shut with a free kick goal in the 82^nd minute to send the U.S. into a clash against Belgium in the Round of 16.

After making an initial save that resulted in a corner, U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese denied an Olimpico attempt on a corner from Kerim Alajbegović in the 11^th minute.

The United States’ first real threat on goal came in the 15^th minute when Balogun got free on the near side of the box, but his shot went wide of the near post.

Balogun thought he had given the U.S. the lead in the 31^st minute when he was on the receiving end of a turnover off a formidable press and danced in the box before finding the bottom corner. The goal was disallowed, though, as Balogun was ruled offside.

Balogun found his opener in the 45^th minute when Tillman looked to play Balogun in behind. The pass was deflected and fell to the feet of Balogun in the box, and the Monaco forward made no mistake with his left foot, sliding his shot in between the legs of goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.

Balogun was inches away from earning his brace in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage time after Sergiño Dest headed a cross to the center of the box, but Balogun’s attempt skipped off the top of the bar and went over.

The match was turned on its head in the 64^th minute when a Balogun foul on Tarik Muharemović went to Video Review. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus deemed Balogun to have committed serious foul play and sent him off.

Two minutes after Balogun’s exit, Bosnia forced Freese into a save when Ermedin Demirović unleased a shot from the top of the box.

Christian Pulisic thought he scored in the 79^th minute, but his goal was also disallowed for offside on McKennie’s initial shot.

Tillman gave the 10-man U.S. important breathing room in the 82^nd minute on a beautiful free kick. After Dest was fouled just outside the box, the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder stepped up and hit a dipping, curling effort over the wall that Vasilj could only get a hand on before it fell into the back of the net.

Bosnia had a chance to halve the deficit in the 90^th minute when Amar Memić pounced on a loose ball on the right side of the box. With Freese out of position, U.S. defender Chris Richards was on the goal line to clear away Memić’s shot.

Ermin Mahmić had a skipping long-range attempt in the eighth minute of stoppage time that seemed destined for the far corner, but it sailed wide. Mahmić had another chance one minute later, but his second effort rolled just past the other post and out for a goal kick.

The U.S. will battle Belgium on Monday at Seattle Stadium in the Round of 16. The Red Devils pulled off a miraculous comeback in their Round of 32 match against Senegal, scoring twice in the 86^th and 89^th minutes to force extra time before winning the match on a penalty kick in the fifth minute of the second stanza of extra time.

THREE TAKEAWAYS

Knockout stage win

The United States recorded a FIFA World Cup knockout round victory for just the second time ever and first since 2002 in an upset win over Mexico.

Win over European competition

The U.S. earned their first win over European competition for the first time since December 2021 when they coincidentally defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina in a friendly in Carson, Calif. The United States had been 0-10-2 in their most recent 12 attempts against teams from Europe.

Balogun suspended

Balogun will be suspended for the U.S.’ Round of 16 match against Belgium after receiving a red card on Wednesday. Balogun is the United States’ top goal scorer at the tournament with three goals.