SANTA CLARA, Calif. — First, the good news: The United States men’s national team beat Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2-0, in the World Cup round of 32 here on Wednesday night.
Now, the bad: If they’re going to go any farther, they may have to do it without their top goal scorer.
Folarin Balogun scored what proved to be the decisive goal for the U.S. just before halftime — his third of the tournament — but was then sent off just after the hour mark in a controversial decision that could see him suspended for the round of 16 match against Belgium.
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The red card came after Balogun collided with Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic just inside the U.S. attacking third. Both players lay on the ground initially, but then the referee, Brazilian Raphael Claus, was called to the monitor by the video assistant referee.
After watching the slow-motion footage, Claus determined that Balogun had raked his cleats down Muharemovic’s leg and onto his foot and ankle, sending him off for serious foul play. Balogun looked shocked; he trudged to the sideline and was consoled by Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah. A one-game suspension is the standard for a red card at a World Cup, though the U.S. is likely to appeal.
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Balogun is the fifth American to receive a red card at a World Cup and is the first player from any country to to score and receive a red card in the same knockout game since France‘s Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 final.
Playing with 10 men, the US did more than simply hold on — Malik Tillman’s gorgeous free kick past the Bosnian wall in the 82nd minute sealed the victory for the U.S., who won just the second World Cup knockout game in program history and first since 2002.
The Americans also snapped a 10-game losing streak against European opposition and will now face another European side, Belgium, with a chance at revenge: The Belgians knocked them out of the 2014 World Cup in the round of 16.
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The U.S. entered this match in an unusual position — as favorites. And despite their historical struggles with European opposition, there was no denying that the U.S. had more talent on their roster and a much stronger showing in the group stage (not to mention a passionate home-crowd advantage).
The early part of the game, though, felt more even. The U.S. controlled play and had most of the ball, but that felt very much like what Bosnia wanted — they soaked up the American moves, rotated defenders nimbly and largely shepherded play towards the edges of the field. There were dangerous moments but as halftime approached, the U.S. had recorded just a single shot on target.
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Balogun was among the most frustrated, swiping the ground with his hand more than once. He claimed the Bosnian defenders were constantly pulling his shirt, asked for a penalty he didn’t get from the referee and had the ball in the back of the net in the 33rd minute only to have it (correctly) ruled out for offside.
Bosnia surely thought they’d done enough to take the match to halftime even. But in the 45th minute, Tim Ream forced a turnover in the middle of the field and sent the ball toward Tyler Adams, who sent a deft flick to Tillman. The midfielder sent a pass through that took a fortuitous bounce — a Bosnian defender tried to clear it but deflected it off a teammate — and the ball fell for Balogun, who rolled it under the goalkeeper.
