A Tough Win And A Harsh Red: 4 Takeaways From USA’s Epic Round of 32 Win

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA STADIUM — For the first time in almost a quarter-century, the U.S. men’s national team won a knockout game at the FIFA World Cup. The USA advanced to the round of 16 on Wednesday with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over plucky Bosnia and Herzegovina, setting up a delicious encounter with European power Belgium on Monday in Seattle with a quarterfinal place on the line. Folarin Balogun’s third goal of the World Cup stood as the winner even with the U.S. striker later shown a red card that forced the hosts to play with 10 men for almost the final third of the contest. With the Americans under pressure, Malik Tillman scored on a free kick in the 82nd minute to pad the lead and seal what will be remembered as a pivotal and crucial triumph on soccer’s grandest stage. “I practiced this in training,” Tillman, who was named Player of the Match, said of his spectacular goal. “I’ve been dreaming about maybe taking a free kick and scoring.” Here are my takeaways following just the second knockout round World Cup win in men’s national team history: 1. USA Earns An Iconic World Cup Win “Just win, baby.” On the eve of the most important match of the World Cup so far for the co-hosts USA, coach Mauricio Pochettino was introduced to that quote, one made famous by a local legend: former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. The timing was fitting, too. When the do-or-die games begin, it doesn’t matter how you survive, only that you do. The Stars and Stripes’ victory on Wednesday wasn’t pretty. This was no surprise. Bosnia and Herzegovina came into its first tournament since 2014 with a reputation for grinding out results; in March, they needed to win penalty shootouts to dispatch Wales and then four-time World Cup champion Italy during Europe’s qualifying playoffs just to book their tickets to North America. Sure enough, they made life difficult for the Americans during the first half in Santa Clara. With all 11 visitors sitting behind the ball at times, the U.S. had few clear looks at keeper Nikola Vasilj’s goal; despite enjoying 63% of possession, the only shot on goal the home side managed during the opening stanza was Balogun’s strike, which literally came in the 45th minute. That’s not to say the U.S. didn’t earn their win. The Bosnians had no answers for the breakneck speed at which the home team operated, or with their quickness in and around the visitors’ 19-yard box. The Americans played soccer; the Golden Lillies tried to stop them by clogging up passing lanes, kicking them whenever possible, and trying to steal a goal on set plays. In short, they made it difficult. The USA still prevailed. And now they’re one of the last 16 teams standing. “It’s definitely exciting,” Chrisitan Pulisic said. “But there’s still more that we want to accomplish.” 2. Folarin Balogun Stars, Then Sees Red The USA’s top striker was Pochettino’s top performer in the group stage, scoring twice and picking up Man of the Match honors against Paraguay, and being named Man of the Match again in the 2-0 win over Australia. With the top spot in Group D confirmed, the coach sat the 24-year-old against Türkiye rather than risk losing him to a yellow card suspension for the Americans first knockout round test. Which paid off: Balogun was again his side’s main finishing threat against the Bosnians, having had what looked like another well-taken goal earlier in the first half currently ruled offside by the assistant referee. The one that counted drew him level with Landon Donovan for the most an American had ever scored at a single World Cup. He did so much more than that, too. Balogun kept the visiting defenders on their heels.  They had few answers for his physicality, quickness and speed of thought. Then, suddenly, he was gone. With the Monaco man well on his way toward another player of the game award, Balogun accidentally stepped on the heel of Bosnian enter back Tarik Muharemović. Didn’t matter. After review, Brazilian referee Raphael Claus determined that serious foul play had occurred, and promptly showed Balogun a red card that forced the U.S. to play short-footed for the final almost half-hour of the contest. Not surprisingly, they disputed the call. “I don’t want to speak too much on it, because I don’t want to get in trouble,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “You probably know my thoughts.” The decision could’ve been fatal. Instead, they defended like men possessed . And when Vasilj could only get his fingers on Tillman’s free kick, it gave the U.S. some desperately-needed breathing room — a cushion they rode all the way to the round of 16. 3. A Rematch With Belgium Awaits … With the Belgium-Senegal match kicking off several hours beforehand, the winner of the latter contest was always going to know its round of 16 foes ahead of time. And it looked to all the world like Senegal would be the USA’s opponent in Seattle on July 6. Belgium had other ideas. Trailing 2-0 with only four minutes of regular time left to play, the Red Devils stunned the Lions of Teranga on late goals by veteran forward Romelu Lukaku and captain Youri Tielemans. They then won the match in extra time on Tielemans’ successful penalty attempt. Combined with the Americans’ victory, it sets up a rematch of the March World Cup tune-up between the sides — one in which the Belgians outclassed Pochettino’s team in a lopsided 5-2 loss. They also eliminated the U.S. in 2014. In fact, the Americans have lost six consecutive matches to Belgium. On Monday night in front of what promises to be another electric and partisan home crowd in Seattle, they’ll get a chance to break that streak and advance to the last eight for the first time since 2002. “It’s one we’re looking forward to,” captain Tim Ream told me duing a postgame scrum with reporters. “It’s an opportunity to get past the round 16.” 4. … And It’s Another Must-Win. It’s not exactly the trap game that Wednesday’s could have been, but that doesn’t mean the U.S. can afford to squander the opportunity to keep the party going. The U.S. has now reached the last 16 in each of its last four World Cup appearances. In 2010, 2014 and 2022, that’s the stage at which they were eliminated. Sure, the first hurdle has been cleared. Winning a knockout game is nothing to sneeze at. It doesn’t happen every day. Still, for this tournament to truly be considered a success on home soil, the status quo won’t really cut it. It’s not going to be easy, especially with Balogun suspended. The Americans will still relish the challenge — one they’ll face head-on. “Obviously all of these games are super difficult, and we’re going have to continue to play the way we have been,” Ream said. “If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a really good opportunity to get into the quarterfinals.”