Mark Zeigler: United States basks in World Cup win, even with star sidelined for next round

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Levi's Stadium shares a parking lot with the Great America amusement park, which was closed Wednesday to accommodate the sold out World Cup match.

The roller-coaster ride, it turned out, was inside the stadium.

The United States got a goal late in the first half against Bosnia and Herzegovina, then grabbed the handlebar for the dips and curves and rolls after a controversial red card reduced them to 10 men for the final 30-plus minutes.

They didn't fly out, scoring again in the 82nd minute against the run of play to claim a nervy 2-0 win in the round of 32 clash and a date against Belgium on Monday in Seattle.

Great, America.

"Overall, it wasn't a perfect day by any means," defender Chris Richards said, "but it was our day."

They'll face Belgium - which came from 2-0 down against Senegal earlier Wednesday to win 3-2 in overtime - without striker Folarin Balogun, who scored the first goal and was arguably the best player on the field until his studs-up tackle on Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic in the 62nd minute.

There didn't seem to be malicious intent, a component of whether to award a red, and Brazilian referee Rafael Claus initially didn't think the challenge warranted even a yellow card.

But the VAR crew caught it and summoned Claus to the sideline video monitor, where they saw Balogun's right cleat slam into the calf and Achilles tendon of Muharemovic's right leg and then badly twist his ankle upon impact. Claus ran back on the field and reached into his right pocket for his red card.

Balogun has the ignominious distinction of becoming the first player to get a goal and red card in the same World Cup match since France superstar Zinedine Zidane and his infamous headbutt in the 2006 final against Italy. And in the World Cup, there is no appeal process to reverse the automatic suspension from the next match.

As Balogun glumly walked off the field at one end, the Bosnians began furiously attacking at the other, forcing a pair of saves by goalkeeper Matt Freese in the moments after they gained a man advantage.

"I think it showed how strong our team is," Richards said. "We went down a man and nobody really stressed out. It was unlucky from Flo, but it is what it is. We got on with it."

After another 15 minutes of relentless defending, the Yanks regained possession of the ball and drew a free kick just outside the penalty box that midfielder Malik Tillman curled over a defensive wall to the absolute roars of the 69,000 - most of them standing all 90 minutes - inside the home of the San Francisco 49ers.

He did it with a right boot he had replaced moments earlier after being stepped on by a Bosnian player.

And after discussing with teammate Antonee Robinson who would take it and where they'd hit it.

"We talked about all the ways we could possibly take this free kick," Tillman said. "We talked about going under the wall, we talked about going keeper's side, we talked about going over the wall.

"I know some guys doubted me about going over the wall, but I practiced this in training and, yeah, I'm happy it went in. I've been dreaming about this game, about maybe taking a free kick and scoring a free kick. Today I showed what I can do."

He admitted he wasn't pleased with his first-half sharpness, even if it was his pass that led to the first goal. It wasn't originally intended for Balogun, but it bounced off one defender, then another to his feet. Balogun's shot hit the right boot of goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj … and caromed between his legs into the net.

Tillman's free kick, however, went exactly where he aimed it.

"Details decided the game," Vasilj said. "We conceded this first goal in a difficult moment just before the halftime, and then the second goal came when we had the ball, we were controlling the game, we started creating situations and then out of nowhere we conceded it.

"We had our moments after the red card. You could feel that there was something. The only thing that was missing was a goal. And then, in the worst moment, out of nothing, a free kick and we conceded the second goal. In the end, we couldn't take advantage of the red card."

It is technically only the Yanks' second knockout stage victory in World Cup history and their first in nearly a quarter-century, although that is skewed by an expanded 48-team tournament that added a round of 32. And by an opponent that in any other year a) wouldn't have qualified for the World Cup and b) wouldn't have advanced out to the knockout stage after finishing third in its already diluted group.

But when you have the World Cup pedigree of the U.S., when you had lost 10 straight games in all competitions against European teams, when you had defeated only one European foe in the last 21 World Cup meetings, you don't quibble.

You bask in the incessant chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A. You survive and advance.

It also helps that they've felt the pressure of knockout World Cup soccer before, about half the roster having played in the 3-1 loss against the Netherlands in the 2022 round of 16 in Qatar.

"I think this game today showed our character," Tillman said. "We will always keep on fighting, keep on giving everything."

In five days, they're at it again, this time against a Belgium team that beat them 5-2 in a March friendly and features an aging but immensely talented roster of players from some of the world's biggest clubs (and several players on the field when they eliminated the U.S. in the 2014 round of 16).

It's also another European opponent. The last time the Yanks beat one before Wednesday was Portugal in 2002.

"People have spoken about us against Europeans, and we broke the streak tonight," Richards said. "Maybe it's our turn to start a new streak."

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.