USA eliminates Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 for Round of 16 game vs. Belgium
And breathe.
The U.S. men’s national team eliminated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in the World Cup Round of 32 Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area. Up next is a date vs. Belgium in the Round of 16.
The first half didn’t pick up until after the hydration break, which has been known to swing momentum throughout the tournament.
Folarin Balogun found the net first with his left foot, but it was chalked off due to offsides in the build up. He didn’t stop there, though.
In the 45th minute, Balogun got on the end of a deflected through ball from Malik Tillman. Just like the offside goal, he angled the ball to his left foot and slotted it through goalie Nikola Vasilj’s legs. And out came LeBron James’ “Silencer” celebration.
Balogun’s first-half threat didn’t end there. He nearly tucked home another on a pass from the right flank, but it appeared to be a mishit off his shin and hit the crossbar on its way up. Vasilj had been beat otherwise.
Despite the advantage going into the second half, things started rather slow for both sides. The major swing came in the 64th minute, involving Balogun again.
After a VAR review, Balogun was adjudged to have made serious foul contact against Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic. It was not initially given as a yellow card, so the U.S. went down to 10 men for the rest of the game.
Balogun will be unavailable to play vs. Belgium.
Bosnia gained all the momentum in what should’ve been the moment the nation needed to get a goal and come back, a key trend throughout the Wednesday slate.
But instead it was the U.S. that scored the next goal.
In the 82nd minute after winning a free kick, Malik Tillman stepped up and exquisitely curled it home over a tall wall. Vasilj got a hand on it, but it wasn’t enough.
The U.S. will now advance to the Round of 16 where Belgium awaits. The game will be set for Monday, July 6 in Seattle. Kickoff time is set for 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
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