United States down Bosnia 2-0 to reach World Cup last 16, but Balogun's red card leaves them without top scorer against Belgium

A knockout drought ends

A raucous crowd at Levi's Stadium saw the U.S. men's team win a World Cup knockout match for the first time in 24 years. Folarin Balogun's near-halftime goal and Malik Tillman's late free kick delivered a 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, sending the hosts into the next phase. The Americans had lost 10 consecutive matches to European opponents at World Cups before this result, and their previous knockout win came in 2002.

Balogun's double-edged night

Balogun opened the scoring when a deflected pass fell to him and he fired a low left-footed shot past the goalkeeper. He celebrated by mimicking LeBron James's "Silencer" routine, and the NBA star responded on social media:

“Helluva goal there Young King!”

The joy evaporated after the break. Referee Raphael Claus, after a VAR review, showed Balogun a straight red card for planting his boot on the ankle of Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic. The contact appeared accidental, but Claus deemed it serious foul play.

Slow-motion dispute

Criticism of the video review process quickly emerged. Replays were presented to the referee in slow motion and as a freeze-frame, which, according to The New York Times, warped the judgment of an incident that occurred at full speed. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino argued:

“Never was this a red card. Watching it on TV, never was there intention to step on the player.”

Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez said the decision was fair. FIFA's disciplinary rules make the one-game suspension automatic, with no appeal possible, meaning Balogun will sit out Monday's last-16 match in Seattle.

Teammates dig deep

Despite playing with 10 men for more than 25 minutes, the U.S. remained compact. Weston McKennie covered nearly 12 kilometres, and Christian Pulisic, back in the starting lineup, helped maintain pressure. Tillman's curling free kick in the 82nd minute sealed the result. Pulisic said:

“We had to dig deep for that one. Obviously, I felt we put on such a good performance and didn't deserve the red card.”

Pochettino, the first U.S. men's coach to win three World Cup matches, joined fans in singing "Country Roads" after the final whistle.

Belgium awaits without the focal point

The Americans now must confront a Belgium side that rallied from two goals down to beat Senegal in extra time. The loss of Balogun, their top scorer at the tournament, reshapes the attack for the most anticipated U.S. match in decades. The squad's ability to cope without him on Wednesday gives some confidence, but the round-of-16 tie will test that depth on a bigger stage.