FIFA WC 2026: Ten-man USA overcome Bosnia to set up last-16 date with Belgium
San Francisco, July 2
The co-host USA relied on goals late in each half to defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 here at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium to enter the Round of 36 of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The co-hosts dig deep and hold on against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman were with the goals, and a red card to Balogun left the USA down a man with 30 minutes to play, but they survived to set up a Round of 16 date with Belgium.
The win against Bosnia and Herzegovina was the second World Cup knockout stage victory. Additionally, the result snapped a 12-match winless streak against European opposition. The win will mark the USMNT's fourth appearance in the Round of 16 in its last four World Cup participations.
Balogun had already gone close with a snapshot when he thought he had opened the scoring, only for the goal to be ruled out for an offside in the build-up. The striker made it third time lucky on the stroke of the interval, capitalising on Tillman's through ball, taking a fortuitous double deflection before calmly slotting under the advancing Nikola Vasilj.
The crossbar then denied him a close-range second deep into first-half stoppage time. Having been largely second best, Bosnia and Herzegovina were handed a lifeline in the 64th minute when Balogun was sent off following a VAR review for a challenge on Tarik Muharemovic.
However, the USA dug their heels in and seized their moment to make the game safe. Tillman stepped up and sent home a free-kick just moments after Christian Pulisic had seen a goal chalked off for offside.
Mauricio Pochettino's men will look to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for only the second time in the modern era when they take on Belgium at Seattle Stadium on July 7.
A win in the Round of 16 would see USA progress to the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time since 2002.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone who follows football closely, I'm impressed by how the USMNT has progressed. From that 12-match winless streak against European teams to beating Bosnia in a knockout match... it's proper growth. But honestly, their finishing needs improvement - 2 goals from all those chances is not ideal. Belgium will punish them if they're wasteful.
Great win for the US! That red card could have been a disaster, but they showed real character. Tillman's free kick was absolutely class. Quarter-finals since 2002 would be massive for American soccer. Let's go USA! 🇺🇸⚽
As an Indian football fan, I watch all World Cups with great interest. The US team's resilience is commendable but I feel for Bosnia - they were unlucky with that red card not really helping them capitalize. Belgium are favorites but USA have home advantage and momentum. Should be a cracker of a match! 🏆
That Balogun red card was harsh in my view - he was going for the ball. VAR has taken some of the physical edge out of football. But credit to Pochettino for organizing the defence so well after going down to ten men. Belgium will be a different beast though - De Bruyne and co. will test them properly. Edge of the seat stuff!
Fourth consecutive Round of 16 appearance - that's consistency! But here's the thing: they need to go further now. The quarter-final wait since 2002 is too long for a co-host nation. Belgium
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