Red card means Balogun goes from hero, to zero input in last 16

SANTA CLARA, California — Folarin Balogun's evening began with a goal and a celebration fit for LeBron James. It ended with the United States striker walking off after a red card that will keep him out of what would have been the biggest match of his international career.

Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup to give the US a first-half lead in its 2-0 round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, continuing his breakout tournament on home soil.

The forward marked the goal by mimicking James' famous "Silencer" celebration, lifting his knees and pounding his chest before repeatedly pushing both arms downward in front of a raucous Santa Clara crowd.

James noticed.

"Helluva goal there, Young King!" the NBA great wrote on social media during the match, giving Balogun's moment an extra jolt of star power.

But Balogun's night took a sharp turn after the break when he was shown a red card for planting his boot into the ankle of Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic, leaving the US to navigate the remainder of the knockout tie a man down.

The contact by Balogun appeared inadvertent, and he was not shown a red or even a yellow initially, but was sent off after a VAR review.

For a few anxious moments, the red card threatened to overwhelm everything Balogun had done well.

It also stirred uncomfortable memories for US fans of Tim Weah's sending-off against Panama at the 2024 Copa America, when the Americans unraveled and crashed out in the group stage on home soil.

This time, Balogun's teammates made sure the story did not end the same way.

Rather than fold, Mauricio Pochettino's side stayed compact and composed, defending with discipline, while still posing a threat going forward.

Malik Tillman eventually doubled the lead with a freekick, allowing the US to close out victory despite Balogun's dismissal.

Tillman changed his right boot just before the freekick. He had a bloody sock around his big toe.

"You never know when it's going to happen. Today, it happened," he said.

"We had to dig deep for that one," Christian Pulisic said.

"Obviously, I felt we put on such a good performance and didn't deserve the red card. I mean, I didn't see it, but it's unfortunate. But for us to dig in deep, get another goal and defend the way we did, it took a real team effort, but we're proud of that."

For Balogun, the night was a contradiction: another good finish that reinforced his value as the US attack's focal point, followed by a costly lapse that will leave him watching from the stands when the co-host faces Belgium in the last 16.

The US survived without him on Wednesday. In Seattle on Monday, it will have to prove it can do it again from the start.

The Americans gained just their second-ever World Cup knockout round victory. They went directly into to the semifinals at the first-ever tournament in 1930 by winning their group, and won a round of 16 matchup against Mexico in 2002.

"So proud of all my players," US coach Pochettino said.

The game was played less than 20 miles from the site of the first US knockout round game of the modern era, when the US lost 1-0 to a heavily favored Brazil side at Stanford Stadium in 1994.

Wednesday, though, the US was favorite for the first time on record in a knockout round match, and didn't let down the large contingent of red-white-and-blue clad fans at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium who, as the game ticked down, were chanting in unison: "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

The win snapped a 10-game losing streak for the US against European teams, dating back to a tie against England in the 2022 World Cup. It also marked the first win in the World Cup for the US team against a European side since beating Portugal in the 2002 opener. It was winless in 13 straight World Cup matchups against European opposition since, including a 2014 loss to its next opponent Belgium.

The US had started fast in the group stage matches by scoring in the first 15 minutes of all three games, but it was the Bosnians that had the better chances early, with Matt Freese needing to make two early saves to stop Ermedin Demirovic following a deceptive goal kick that caught the US defense napping, and then again on the ensuing corner, from which Kerim Alajbegovic almost scored directly.

Balogun took over from there, having one apparent goal called off for offside, being knocked down in the box on two other opportunities before finally delivering in the 45th minute. Tim Ream intercepted a Bosnia goal kick in midfield and then Tillman found Balogun in the box, who slid a left-footed shot past Bosnian keeper Nikola Vasilj, before breaking out LeBron's signature celebration.

"We conceded a goal through our mistakes," Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez said through a translator.

"Unfortunately things like that happen, but at this level they are immediately punished."

Bosnia and Herzegovina's second appearance at a World Cup can be considered a relative 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.

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