International Soccer
Terrific Tillman and USMNT survive Bosnia and Herzegovina to advance to Round of 16
The United States Men’s National Team survived a second-half scare against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night, going down to ten men on the way to a 2-0 victory in the World Cup Round of 32. Folarin Balogun opened the scoring late in the first half, but was sent
off for a dangerous tackle in the 2nd.
With their backs up against the wall, Malik Tillman scored a sublime free kick to double the lead, enough to send USMNT through to the Round of 16.
USMNT earned their spot in the Round of 32 after qualifying at the top of Group D. Bosnia and Herzegovina, making their second ever appearance at the World Cup, finished third in Group B. Both teams pursued history, as Bosnia and Herzegovina had never won a match in the World Cup’s knockout stages and USMNT had only ever done so once.
After missing USMNT’s second match against Australia and appearing as a substitute against Türkiye, Christian Pulisic returned to the starting eleven for the match. Matt Freese made his 18th USMNT cap in the match, earning his third World Cup appearance after sitting out the Türkiye match. Mark McKenzie was unavailable with an injury, and Brenden Aaronson was on the bench along with Auston Trusty.
The match got off to a tense start, as USMNT found themselves defending a corner kick within the first minute of the match. Freese made a save inside of 10 minutes, and soon after the USMNT began to settle into the match. The players thought the breakthrough was found in the
30 th minute when a high press from Weston McKennie diverted a pass in the direction of Folarin Balogun, who poked the ball into the net. After a brief celebration, the flag went up for offside, and the match remained scoreless.
Balogun would find his goal just before halftime. Malik Tillman attempted a threaded pass through to his red-hot striker. The pass deflected off of two Bosnian defenders before falling at for Balogun, who calmly slotted home for a 1-0 lead. The goal would stand this time, and
Balogun’s LeBron-inspired celebration got put to use once more.
Bosnia and Herzegovina began the second half with a wave of substitutions. Amongst them was Esmir Bajraktarevic, the former New England Revolution homegrown, who represented USMNT in a friendly but elected to represent the Bosnians instead.
While USMNT maintained control of the match, a scare came in the 64 th minute. An awkward collision between Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic and Balogun resulted in a throw-in for USMNT, but Muharemovic stayed down in pain. Soon after, referee Raphael Claus was called to the monitor to review the collision for violent conduct. Initially appearing as a tangle of legs, the slow-motion replay showed Balogun’s studs making contact with the calf area of Muharemovic. The contact was unintentional, and Muharemovic was able to carry on, but the nature of the contact was still deemed violent enough for a red card. Claus sent Balogun off, and USMNT were left to protect a 1-0 lead without their most in-form player.
After the red card decision, USMNT were forced to sit back and invite more pressure. Typically a pressing team, the Americans were forced to keep their shape a bit more in the later stages of the match. A rare break forward for USMNT came in the 80 th minute when Sergiño Dest was pulled down at the edge of the box. Malik Tillman lined up the free kick. With a fairly straight run-up, Tillman struck the ball over the wall and off the fingertips of Bosnian goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, doubling USMNT’s lead in one of the most iconic moments in USMNT World Cup history.
The Bosnians pushed forward late in the match, but were unable to find a breakthrough. Chris Richards, Alex Freeman, Tim Ream, and Freese held solid in defense, preventing any quality looks from Bosnia in the box. A couple of Bosnian strikes from distance went wayward, and USMNT were able to hold on for a 2-0 victory.
The victory was historically significant for USMNT, who had only won once previously in the World Cup knockout stages. The win earned USMNT a trip to the Round of 16 for the fourth time in the last five World Cups. Freese made three saves and nine ball recoveries, earning his second clean sheet of the tournament.
USMNT return to the Round of 16 on Monday, July 6th at 8 p.m. ET in Seattle, Washington. There, they will face old foe Belgium in a rematch of their legendary Round of 16 matchup in the 2014 World Cup.
