United States player Malik Tillman (17 years old) celebrates with his teammates after scoring from a free kick. (AP photo)
The United States overcame second-half adversity to defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 on Wednesday night, securing only the second FIFA World Cup knockout win in the country’s history despite playing the final 26 minutes with ten men following Folarin Balogun’s controversial red card.Balogun opened the scoring with his third goal of the tournament before being sent off midway through the second half, but Malik Tillman scored a stunning goal from a late free-kick to seal a memorable last-32 victory and send the hosts into the last 16 of the expanded 48-team tournament.The win sets up an exciting confrontation against Belgium in Seattle on Monday, as Mauricio Pochettino’s team continues its dream of qualifying for the World Cup finals on home soil.
Balogun shines ahead of red card drama
The United States entered the match as favourites, but survived an early scare after goalkeeper Matt Freese made two crucial saves to deny Ermedin Demirovic, while Karim Alagbegovic also threatened from a corner kick.Once the home team settled down, Balogun took center stage.The striker had one goal ruled out for offside and claimed penalties on two separate occasions before finally breaking the deadlock before half-time.
Tim Ream intercepted the ball near midfield before Malik Tilleman played a clever pass into the box, allowing Balogun to curl the ball past Nikola Vasiliy with his left foot for his third goal of the tournament.The goal moved him just one goal away from Bert Patenaude’s long-standing record of four goals by an American player in a single World Cup tournament in 1930. Balogun celebrated with his version of LeBron James’ famous “silencer” gesture, earning plaudits from the NBA star.However, the evening took a dramatic turn in the 64th minute. Balogun was shown a straight red card after a challenge on Tarik Muharimovic, forcing the hosts to play the remainder of the match with one man.
Tillman achieves the famous victory
Despite the numerical deficiency, the American team maintained its defensive composure and thwarted Bosnia’s attempts to achieve an equalizer.The decisive moment arrived in the 82nd minute when Tilleman curled in a stunning free kick from outside the penalty area.
Vasilj managed to get his hand in for the effort but could only help it into the net as celebration erupted at Levi’s Stadium.The win ended a miserable run against European opponents in the World Cup. The United States has failed to beat any European team in the tournament since beating Portugal in 2002, and has gone 13 World Cup matches without a win, including a heartbreaking overtime defeat to Belgium in the round of 16 in 2014.It also ended a winless run of 10 matches against European opponents at the World Cup, and marked only the second victory in the knockout stages in the history of the Men’s World Cup after the famous 2002 Round of 16 victory over Mexico. The Americans had previously reached the semifinals in the inaugural 1930 edition after topping their group before a knockout system was introduced.Meanwhile, Bosnia came away with plenty of pride after reaching the knockout rounds for the first time in only their second World Cup appearance, having drawn with Canada and beaten Qatar during the group stage.