Bosnia Eliminated from the World Cup

LIVE: 2-0! The U.S. extends its lead despite being a man down

The U.S. celebrates advancing to the Round of 16.(Bild: EPA/BENJAMIN FANJOY)

Following Canada and Mexico, the U.S. becomes the third host nation to advance to the Round of 16 at the World Cup.

Early Thursday morning in Santa Clara, the U.S. team defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 thanks to goals by Folarin Balogun (45') and Malik Tillman (82') and will face Belgium next Tuesday in Seattle. Not even playing a man down for about half an hour after Balogun was sent off (66') could derail the U.S. team against a harmless Bosnian side.

The U.S. celebrates advancing to the Round of 16.(Bild: EPA/BENJAMIN FANJOY)

  In front of 68,827 spectators, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino returned to his starting lineup after the rotation-heavy match against Turkey (2–3), which had no bearing on the standings. Playing a 3-5-2 formation, the home team set the pace, using intense pressing to deny the Balkan side—led by former Salzburg players Kerim Alajbegovic and Amar Dedic—any moments of respite. However, the Stars and Stripes didn’t create any clear-cut chances until later in the match.

Folarin Balogun scored to make it 1–0, but was then sent off early with a red card.(Bild: AP)

A header by Antonee Robinson went just over the crossbar (18th minute), but after about half an hour, the ball finally found the back of the net for the first time. Balogun’s celebratory dance was abruptly cut short by the offside whistle, however. A quarter of an hour later—and following a lightning-fast cross from Pulisic that found no takers (39th minute)—the Monaco striker was finally able to finish his celebration. After a quick turnover and an unintentional assist from Stjepan Radeljic, Balogun didn’t need to be asked twice.

(Bild: AP/Martin Meissner)

Balogun Receives an Unfortunate Red Card
Just before halftime, the 24-year-old nearly made it 2–0, but his close-range shot hit the crossbar (45’+8). And Balogun remained in the spotlight after the break as well. In the 64th minute, he was sent off following an unfortunate but hard foul on former WAC player Tarik Muharemovic—after a VAR review—forcing his team to change their approach. Although Bosnia had previously lost veteran striker Edin Dzeko to a muscle injury (51'), they played with significantly more courage than in the first half.

However, the team that had been Italy’s nemesis in qualifying failed to create any clear-cut chances. Bosnia failed to capitalize on the momentum, got lucky when another goal was ruled offside—this time by Christian Pulisic (80th minute)—and was defeated shortly thereafter. Leverkusen’s Tillman delicately curled a free kick over the wall into the top left corner to seal the final score. In the closing minutes, Bosnia threw everything at the goal but still came up empty-handed. Shots by Alajbegovic and Ermin Mahmic narrowly missed the target in stoppage time.

Pochettino: “Never a Red Card”
Pochettino, who was belting out “Take Me Home, Country Roads” at the top of his lungs after the final whistle, was full of praise for his team. “The development and maturity of this team are impressive—especially when you see how much we’ve improved over the past five to six weeks,” said the Argentine. However, Balogun’s ejection was a particularly bitter blow. “That was never a red card. It was a normal play in soccer. It happened unintentionally and was in no way deliberate.”