07/01/26 09:15:00
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07/01 21:14 CDT U.S. beats Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to round of 16 and
keep its World Cup dreams alive
U.S. beats Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to round of 16 and keep its World
Cup dreams alive
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) --- Folarin Balogun scored his third goal of the World
Cup before being sent off with a red card in the second half, and Malik Tillman
converted on a free kick to give the 10-man United States squad a 2-0 win over
Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday night to advance to the round of 16.
Balogun dominated the first half with his goal and several other chances that
helped the U.S. control the match early but the Americans had to scramble down
a man after his foul against Tarik Muharemovic in the 64th minute.
Tillman helped seal the win when he scored on a free kick from just outside the
box in the 82nd minute with a shot off the hand of goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.
That gave the U.S. just its second World Cup knockout round win. The Americans
made it to the semifinals in the first tournament in 1930 by winning their
group and won a round of 16 matchup against Mexico in 2002.
The win over Bosnia in the round of 32 in this year's expanded tournament sets
up a matchup on Monday in Seattle against Belgium as the U.S. hopes to make a
deep run on home soil.
The game was played less than 20 miles from the site of the first U.S. knockout
round game of the modern era when the Americans lost 1-0 to heavily favored
Brazil at Stanford Stadium in 1994.
The U.S. was favored this time around for the first time on record in a
knockout round match and didn't let down the large contingent of
red-white-and-blue clad fans at Levi's Stadium who were chanting "U-S-A!
U-S-A!" in the closing minutes.
The win snapped a 10-game losing streak for the U.S. against European teams
dating to a tie against England in the 2022 World Cup. It marked the first win
in the World Cup for the Americans against a European team since a win over
Portugal in the 2002 opener. They were winless in 13 straight World Cup
matchups against European teams since then, including a 2-1 loss in extra time
to Belgium in the round of 16 in 2014.
The U.S. had started fast in the group stage matches by scoring in the first 15
minutes of all three games. But it was Bosnia that had the better chances early
with Matt Freese needing to make two saves early to stop Ermedin Demirovic
following a deceptive goal kick that caught the U.S. defense napping and then
again on the ensuing corner kick that Kerim Alajbegovic almost scored on
directly.
Balogun then took over from there, having one apparent goal called off for
offside, being knocked down in the box on two other opportunities and then
finally delivering in the 45th minute. Tim Ream intercepted a Bosnia goal kick
at midfield and then Malik Tillman found Balogun in the box. He slid the
left-footed shot in for his third goal of the tournament --- one shy of the
record for a U.S. men's player in a single World Cup set in 1930 by Bert
Patenaude.
He punctuated it with his version of the LeBron James Silencer celebration,
drawing a positive reaction from King James himself.
Balogun nearly scored again in stoppage time but his shot from in close
deflected off the cross bar and out of play.
Bosnia's second World Cup trip was a success with a draw against Canada in the
opener and a win over Qatar that helped the team advance to the knockout round
for the first time.
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See more of AP's World Cup coverage here
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