Mauricio Pochettino named the same starting lineup for the USA that rolled out for a 4-1 win against Paraguay in their opening World Cup match. Bosnia and Herzegovina created some opportunities early, with Matt Freese forced to palm out an 11th-minute corner kick that was goal-bound. Folarin Balogun sent a shot wide in the 15th minute, and in the 18th, Weston McKennie’s cross was punched by Bosnia goalkeeper Vasilj into Antonee Robinson and out of play. The US held 78% possession in that first “quarter”
of the game before the TV advertising hydration break, and the xG battle was 0.22 to 0.04 for the US.
In the 29th minute, Balogun drew contact in the box and went down, but it was judged to be minor, so no penalty kick ensued. One minute later, Balogun received the ball at the top of the box and fired it into the bottom-right corner, celebrating with a patented LeBron James move. The flag was up, though; Balogun was offside, and we continued at 0-0. In the 45th minute, Malik Tillman’s through-ball deflected off defenders and fell kindly to Balogun at the top of the box, who did really well to stay calm under pressure, keep control, and quickly slot it home. Balogun joined Landon Donovan and 1930 World Cup Bert Patenaude as the only Americans to ever score 3+ goals at a World Cup. 1-0 USA.
Two minutes after the goal, Edin Dzeko absolutely blindsided Tyler Adams, who needed treatment, but was able to stay in the game. In the 8th minute of first-half stoppage time, Sergiño Dest found Balogun in the box, but Balogun’s off-balance touch was only able to curl up and over the crossbar. The half ended 1-0 USA. In the 51st minute, legendary Bosnia linebacker Edin Dzeko had to leave the game, and Bosnia made it a triple-sub, bringing Wisconsin’s own Esmir Bajraktarević off the bench along with two others.
In the 61st minute, Balogun was reaching for the ball and his foot landed awkwardly on the heel of Bosnia defender Muharemovic, who went down in pain. VAR recommended that Brazilian referee Raphael Claus take a look, and Mr. Claus was in a giving mood, issuing a red card to Balogun and giving Bosnia their best chance at surviving the game.
From the 64th minute when the red card was issued until the advertising hydration break in the 69th, Bosnia was on the front foot. The US fell back into what looked like a flat 4-4-1 defensive shape with Christian Pulisic isolated up top. In the 78th minute, McKennie found Tillman in the box for Pulisic to score, only for Pulisic to be ruled offside. Two minutes later, Bosnia manager Sergej Barbarez earned a yellow card for holding onto the ball and refusing to give it back (while screaming at the official). In that same minute, Dest earned a foul just outside the penalty area, and a yellow card on Radeljic. Earlier in the match, Malik Tillman had his foot stepped on, drawing blood, and had to change his right cleat. Tillman took the free kick, and his right cleat sent the ball curling up and over the wall, then down and away from goalkeeper Vasilj, who was able to get his hand on it, but not enough to keep it out. The USA’s first goal from a direct free kick in nine years. 2-0 USA.
Bosnia had some chances to score in the final minutes. 10 minutes of stoppage time were added on, and Bosnia had two chances that went just wide in the 8th and 9th minutes of stoppage, before the final whistle blew on a historic USA win. Only the second-ever USA win in a World Cup knockout game (2002 vs Mexico). The third knockout win against a team from Europe.
On the round of 16.
