FIFA World Cup 2026 | Round of 32 | Wednesday, 1 July 2026 San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (Levi’s Stadium), Santa Clara, California | Referee: Raphael Claus
The good news came first. Folarin Balogun scored just before half-time. His third goal of the tournament. The goal that sent the United States into the break in control of a match that had looked uncomfortable for long stretches of the first half. The goal that ultimately won them a place in the Round of 16.
Then the bad news. Fourteen minutes into the second half, Balogun challenged Tarik Muharemovic in the air, came down, and his studs caught the Bosnia defender on the ankle. It looked incidental. The referee thought differently after watching it on the VAR screen. Straight red card. Balogun suspended for the Round of 16 against Belgium.
<cite index=”13-1″>”For me? Never a red card,” said Mauricio Pochettino.</cite>
<cite index=”13-1″>The United States beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in the World Cup round of 32 Wednesday night. The red card came after Balogun collided with Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic just inside the U.S.</cite> half. But the ten men that remained — and it was ten men for over half an hour — did more than simply hold on. Malik Tillman put the game beyond doubt with a stunning free-kick in the 82nd minute. USA win. Their second-ever World Cup knockout victory. The first since 2002. <cite index=”15-1″>The win snapped a 10-game losing streak for the U.S. against European teams.</cite>
Bosnia had the better of the opening exchanges. <cite index=”15-1″>Matt Freese needed to make two early saves to stop Ermedin Demirovic following a deceptive goal kick that caught the U.S.</cite> The Americans were not sharp. The first half was a mess of nervy possession and Bosnia finding pockets of space that had not been available against Paraguay and Australia. <cite index=”13-1″>The U.S. entered this match in an unusual position — as the favorite.</cite> They did not look like one for most of the opening 40 minutes.
But pressure tells eventually. <cite index=”13-1″>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 to Balogun, who rolled it under the goalkeeper.</cite> Fortuitous deflection. Clean finish underneath Vasilj. 1-0.
Balogun had already seen a goal ruled out for offside in the 31st minute. He then rattled the crossbar in first-half stoppage time. Three involvements in the final action before the break — an offside, a post, and the goal. He had been unstoppable.
Then, in the 64th minute, he was gone.
<cite index=”14-1″>Balogun raked his studs down Tarik Muharemovic’s calf and landed on his ankle as the two challenged for an aerial ball, although it seemed inadvertent, the extent of the contact saw VAR advise the ref to go to the screen, and that led to a straight red card.</cite> Bosnia thought they now had a route back into the game. The home crowd in Santa Clara went quiet. Ten men against a motivated Bosnia side with 26 minutes remaining. It looked precarious.
It was not. <cite index=”13-1″>Playing with 10 men, the U.S. did more than simply hold on.</cite> Pochettino’s side dropped into a 4-4-1 and kept Bosnia at arm’s length. Dest won a free-kick at the edge of the box in the 82nd minute. The set-up was simple. Tillman stepped over it. He bent it toward the near post. <cite index=”19-1″>Tillman scored on a free kick from just outside the box in the 82nd minute with a shot off the hand of goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.</cite> The ball deflected in off the keeper. 2-0. Done.
<cite index=”13-1″>Tillman’s gorgeous free kick past the Bosnian wall in the 82nd minute sealed the victory for the U.S., which won only the second World Cup knockout game in program history and first since 2002.</cite> He ran away celebrating and the whole of Levi’s Stadium went up. <cite index=”13-1″>”I’ve been dreaming about maybe taking a free kick and scoring a free kick,” Tillman said.</cite>
<cite index=”15-1″>Balogun matched Landon Donovan in 2010 for the second-most goals by an American in a World Cup, behind only Bert Patenaude’s four in the initial tournament in 1930.</cite> Three goals, a red card, and a suspension for the most important game yet. The emotion around him afterwards was raw.
For Bosnia, the tournament ends with real credit. <cite index=”15-1″>Bosnia’s second World Cup trip was a success with a draw against Canada in the opener and a win over Qatar that helped the team advance to the knockout round for the first time.</cite> Making the Round of 32, getting within 15 minutes of something more — not a failure. A foundation. Their coach was philosophical. <cite index=”15-1″>”We considered a goal through our mistakes,” Barbarez said. “Unfortunately things like that happen but at this level they are immediately punished.”</cite>
Pochettino is the first USA coach with three World Cup wins. Belgium next. Monday in Seattle. The country Balogun cannot play against. The country that knocked USA out in 2014. History waiting to be written again — one way or another.
For live World Cup scores and Round of 16 coverage, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full results, standings and knockout bracket at the official FIFA World Cup website.
USA 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina FIFA World Cup 2026, Round of 32 | Wednesday, 1 July 2026 San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California | Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Goals: Folarin Balogun 45′ (deflected through ball from Tillman), Malik Tillman 82′ (free-kick, deflected off Vasilj)
Red Card: Folarin Balogun 64′ (USA — serious foul play on Muharemovic, VAR review, straight red)
USA (4-2-3-1): Freese; Dest (Richards 71′), Ream, Richards, Robinson; Adams, McKennie; Weah, Tillman, Reyna; Balogun (red card 64′)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Vasilj; Muharemovic, defenders; Demirovic, midfielders; Seferovic, forwards
Stats: USA dominated first half | Half-time: 1-0
Records: USA’s second-ever World Cup knockout win (first since 2002 vs Mexico). Balogun — three goals, equals Landon Donovan for second-most by an American at a World Cup. Pochettino — first USA coach with three World Cup victories.
Round of 16: USA vs Belgium (Lumen Field, Seattle — Monday July 6) | Balogun suspended
