The biggest victory in American men’s soccer in a generation came at a heavy price. But the price the United States paid at Levi’s Stadium for its 2-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup round of 16 made one thing clear.
This team is different. Quite different.
Leading 1-0 after Folarin Balogun’s first-half goal, a long pass was played into the Bosnian half and the U.S. goalkeeper battled Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic for the ball. Balogun extended his right foot towards the ball and ended up striking Muharemovic’s calf with his boot, ultimately landing on the defender’s ankle.
There was no intention of harm in the play; Both players were rushing for the ball, and Balogun did not move as if he intended to harm Muharemovic. But slowed down on instant replay – as seen by referee Raphael Klaus after the video assistant referee marked the play – it looked terrible. The difference between the initial full speed read (not a single call at all, not even a foul) and the replays provided by VAR could not have been more stark.
Klaus returned from the monitor and ruled that Balogun deserved a red card for a serious foul and sent him off for the rest of the game.
This could be the story of the game (and if Balogun is omitted for the next match against Belgium, it will have to be reviewed again and again). But the match’s most shocking moment was yet to come – and it’s something American fans can cling to as they continue to dream of a deep breakthrough in this tournament.
Faced with 35 minutes of man-to-man play against a determined opponent who could suddenly attack their goal in wave after wave, the United States… didn’t give up.
Instead, led by midfield star Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic’s maelstrom of movement and Malik Tillman’s inspired play (not to mention surprisingly strong defense from the American backline), the United States did what good teams do: they weathered the storm, stayed in control, picked their chances, struck when they had the chance and saw out the game.
It’s a level of cool, calm and collected that Americans aren’t used to seeing from their men’s soccer team. It’s a level that some teams never reach – just ask the Italians at home because they couldn’t stop Bosnia and Herzegovina from scoring after a red card in a World Cup qualifier, a defeat that prevented Bosnia and Herzegovina from scoring. Blues I’m watching this tournament at home.
This is the mentality that the best teams in the world expect and achieve. This could be a signal that the US is moving towards joining this club.
“It’s a proud moment and it’s a moment where we can take a lot of confidence because we’ve kept two clean sheets in our last four games,” defender Chris Richards said after the match. “I think before this we didn’t have the best record when it came to keeping clean sheets.”
From the solid defense after that sending off to Tillman’s brilliant free-kick goal in the 82nd minute, the US showed the professionalism and maturity that other US teams have struggled to display in the most important stadiums. Memories of World Cups long gone – Belgium’s two extra-time goals in 2014, Asamoah Gyan’s extra-time goal that eliminated Team USA in 2010 and being cut to ribbons by the Dutch four years ago – crept into the minds of American fans after Balogun was sent off.
Photo: USA defeats Bosnia and Herzegovina in World Cup knockout match
What new hell awaited the 2026 team? When will the moment come that will crush America’s playoff dreams again? Now that they were outnumbered, when would they be surpassed?
The Bosnians prepared to put the United States under siege. They put as many strikers on the field as possible. They intended to increase the pressure higher and higher until the Americans broke and conceded the decisive goal.
And then, the man who scored the most important second goal of the match had a German accent, not a Bosnian one.
Tillman, who was born in Germany to an American father and a German mother, stepped up after Sergiño Dest fouled Sergiño Dest just outside the Bosnia penalty area. The free kick win itself acted as a pressure release valve, allowing the U.S. to breathe for a while without finding itself in the back of their net. But he was also in a dangerous position.
Tillman took a short run and fired a right-footed shot over the Bosnian wall off goalie Nikola Vasil’s glove and into the net. He rolled into the stands, his team rushed towards him, and the crowd went crazy. It was a golden moment born of steel and craftsmanship.
American men’s soccer has always had a lot of firsts. The latter comes and goes. On Wednesday night in the Bay Area, they combined to pull off one of the biggest scores in the nation’s history.
“For me on the field, I’m a different type of person… You don’t really see my emotions, but if you score a goal like that, I mean, I think you guys saw my emotions then too,” Tillman told reporters after the game.
“It’s a great feeling and certainly a proud moment for me.”
It’s rare for a 10-man team to take the lead, and even rarer in a World Cup knockout match where caution is the name of the game.
But this team seems to have adopted their coach’s personality, and Mauricio Pochettino’s best teams have always been known for their fearlessness, willingness to push forward in attack and defend doggedly until the final whistle. Pochettino’s teams run and run and run until their opponents become tired and vulnerable.
It is this mentality that the Argentine will have to spend the next few days instilling in his team as the task they faced against Belgium became that much more difficult when Balogun saw red.
Red Devils This is not the same team they were in 2014 when they eliminated the USA in the round of 16. They are a far cry from the team that finished third at this tournament in 2018 or reached the quarter-finals of the European Championships in 2016 and 2020.
This golden generation of players is all but gone, leaving only Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne. In the first two games of this World Cup, it looked like Belgium’s best years were truly over after terrible draws with Egypt and Iran.
But a 5-1 thrashing of New Zealand woke them up, and an incredibly late comeback against Senegal on Wednesday, fighting back from a 2-0 deficit with two goals in the final five minutes and then winning on penalties in extra time, made it clear that Belgium are no weaklings.
Add to that the fact that the USA will now be playing without their best striker, the man who has been at the center of most of their goals in this tournament, and suddenly the USA will feel like they are back in a familiar position: the underdog.
Without his star striker, Pochettino could turn to Ricardo Pepi, who combined well with Pulisic before the tournament, or Haji Wright, who scored the United States’ only goal in defeat to the Dutch four years ago. Or the Argentine could do something no one expects and completely change his formation ahead of the round of 16 match.
One thing is clear: the Americans proved on Wednesday that they have the mentality to compete in this tournament. Bosnia and Herzegovina may not have been the most talented team and may not have been a country with a rich football history, but they were given the scarlet opportunity to force the USA into the humiliating collapse that Americans are accustomed to seeing when the lights shine brightest at the World Cup.
But this team? This team is different.