Key Points
- The USMNT beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to reach the World Cup round of 16.
- Folarin Balogun scored in the 45th minute, then was sent off in the 64th.
- Malik Tillman sealed it in the 82nd minute as the U.S. played with 10 men.
- It is the first U.S. World Cup knockout win since 2002; Belgium is next.
The United States beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to reach the 2026 World Cup round of 16, and did it the hard way — holding a one-goal lead for half an hour a man down. It is the USMNT's first World Cup knockout win since 2002, and only the second elimination-game victory in the program's history.
How It Happened
Folarin Balogun put the hosts ahead on the stroke of halftime, finishing in the 45th minute. His night then turned: in the 64th minute, a tangle with defender Tarik Muharemović left Balogun's cleats on the Bosnian's ankle, and a video review upgraded the call to a straight red. Down to 10 men and clinging to a 1-0 lead, the U.S. defended for its tournament life — until Malik Tillman put the game away with a brilliant strike in the 82nd minute. The result sends the Group D winners through to the last 16. The sending-off proved less costly than it first looked, as FIFA later suspended Balogun's red-card ban, clearing him to play Belgium.
For the matchup itself, the U.S. now faces Belgium in the Round of 16 on July 6 in Seattle.
The Read
This is the game that changes the temperature around Mauricio Pochettino's team. A co-host carries expectation like a weight, and the easy story all tournament was whether this group could win a knockout match when it mattered — something no U.S. men's side had done in 24 years. Doing it short-handed, defending a lead for 30 minutes with 10 men, is a different kind of answer than a comfortable win would have been: it is the resilience the program has been accused of lacking, delivered on the biggest possible stage. The reward is brutal. Next up is a Belgium side that just erased a two-goal deficit to eliminate Senegal, and Balogun's red card means the USMNT's best finisher watches the round of 16 from the stands. The path is still open — it just got steeper.
Source: ESPN
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