Folarin Balogun’s goal created the belief the United States’ men’s national team was set for the 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16, but his red card in Wednesday’s second half created a truckload of doubt.
But Malik Tillman stepped up to score a curling free kick that secured a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in a round-of-32 match at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (Levi’s Stadium) in Santa Clara, California.
Beating Bosnia-Herzegovina means the U.S. will advance to the round of 16 where it will face Belgium on Monday at Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field). In March, the U.S. was left to face major questions after a 5-2 loss to the European heavyweight in a friendly match in Atlanta.
Here’s a look at what happened Wednesday, how it happened and what allowed the U.S. to advance.
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Manager rating (out of 10)
Pochettino’s tactical approach was tested in nearly every way. There was how the U.S. opened the match by facilitating its attack down the right rather than the left, which had become so familiar. There were those times when the Americans alternated between their 4-2-3-1 and a 3-5-2. But Balogun’s red card with more that 30 minutes left in regulation forced the U.S. to try to find the sort of success away from the ball. It was an approach that saw the U.S. hold firm until it went on the counters that eventually led to Tillman scoring off a free kick for a 2-0 lead.
USMNT player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, 5 = average)
Freese became a much more active figure once the U.S. went down to 10 players compared to when Balogun was on the pitch. He didn’t see much to open the match beyond calmly punching away one shot by Ermedin Demirovic, before making a two-fisted save on a corner that looked as if it was about to dip into the goal.
Freeman tended to stay back on defense when the U.S. shifted between a 4-2-3-1 and into a 3-5-2. The 21-year-old would take a more active role with the U.S. going down to 10 and working with Sergiño Dest to stop attacks down the right.
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The U.S. owning so much of the ball meant Richards wasn’t really asked to do much to start. Until, well, Balogun’s red card forced everyone into preserving a lead rather than adding to the advantage. Especially when he had that block in the 88th minute that kept Bosnia-Herzegovina from potentially scoring.
Ream was instrumental in several ways. It started with some of the long balls he tried playing into Bosnia’s end when the U.S. was trying to find an opening. There was his heads-up play on Nikola Vasilj’s goal kick that led to him getting a foot on the ball and was the start of a sequence that ended with Balogun celebrating a 1-0 lead. Yet what was arguably his greatest contribution came when he led the effort to preserve thet one-goal lead.
He had a few moments of activity in the first half. But it really took the match drifting to the left side for Robinson to really be more a factor. But like everyone else, the match changed for him when he was part of a structure that worked to keep Bosnia from tying the score.
Adams kept things moving again Wednesday with how he could be a fall back whenever the U.S. needed to reset against a Bosnian low block that didn’t allow much. Yet his quick flick to Tillman that helped set up Balogun’s goal was both a literal and figurative nice touch. Of course, going down to 10 players saw Adams take a leading role in the defensive presence.
Tillman was again a significant driver of play even before his free kick gave the U.S. a two-goal cushion. He helped facilitate attacks that turned into shots and played the ball to Balogun that led to the first goal. He was then called into action with Adams as their partnership provided a level of protection when Bosnia began threatening before his curling free kick pushed it to 2-0.
Dest appeared to be more active against Bosnia-Herzegovina than at any point in this tournament because of a willingness to create from the right. The header he had in the first half made its way to Balogun and almost gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead. But Dest’s efforts on defense were just as important.
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Everything McKennie did was with the intent of either connecting play or finding a way to connect play by working to get the ball back. His presence in the first half made him the most active player for the U.S. to start the match. The red card forced him into a more defensive role before he took an active role in a counterattack that paid dividends.
Generating attacks on the right meant Pulisic had a quiet start but did have moments when he threatened. When the U.S. went down to 10 players, that’s when he was active with his efforts to slow down Bosnia-Herzegovina whenever play shifted to the left while being involved in those gradual counterattacks.
Balogun easily had the most contrasting evening of any player for the U.S. Before the red card? He was constantly on the move trying to connect play in any way possible and initially had a goal before it was ruled for offside. Then, he had the goal that gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead before his second-half foul on Tarik Muharemovic went to review and he was shown a red card.
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Substitutes (players introduced after 70 minutes = no rating)
The box-to-box midfielder came in to provide defensive reinforcement to close out the match.
PSV Eindhoven‘s target man drifted between the left and the top of any would be attacks to help see out the rest of the game.
Reyna, like Berhalter, came in to give the U.S. another body to help stave off any last-ditch attacks and maintain the 2-0 lead.
