The U.S. defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–0 on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California, to pick up its first World Cup knockout round victory since 2002.
They’re back in the round of 16, which they qualified for in 2010, 2014, and 2022.
The host nation’s magical World Cup run continued despite a red card in the second half to its top goal scorer, Folarin Balogun.
The U.S. came into the match after breezing past Paraguay and Australia in the group stage. Because the team had already won Group D, head coach Mauricio Pochettino rested some of his starters for the third match against Paraguay, and the U.S. picked up an inconsequential 3–2 loss to Turkey. Bosnia and Herzegovina emerged as the third place team out of Group B after drawing with Canada, losing to Switzerland, and beating Qatar.
Neither side scored before the first half hydration break.
In the 30th minute, Balogun had a goal called back for offside, but not before he could pull out LeBron James’s “Silencer” celebration. Balogun found the back of the net again in the 45th minute, this time for good, and pulled out James’s signature celebration once more, much to the NBA player’s delight.
Balogun’s exciting night took a turn early in the 64th minute when he stepped on the ankle of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemović while falling. After a lengthy review, Balogun was given a red card, sidelining the team’s most prolific scorer while limiting the U.S. to just 10 players for the majority of the second half.
The U.S. managed to hold off Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in the 82nd minute, Malik Tillman’s free kick put the team up 2–0.
The win was only the second ever World Cup knockout victory for the U.S., the first being a 2–0 victory over Mexico in 2002. However, the feat is slightly watered down because the round of 32 is a new element of the expanded 48-team tournament this year. In the most recent U.S. trip to the knockouts, in 2022, the squad fell 3–1 to the Netherlands.
“The players deserve everything and the way that we compete against a very good team, very difficult team, I think it’s a lot to be proud,” Pochettino said after the match—and after once again jubilantly singing along to “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” “So proud of all my players, the staff, these fans, they are amazing today. I think it’s amazing to live that experience.”
It was also the first time the U.S. played a knockout round match during primetime, with a kickoff at 8pm Eastern time. Fox announced 16 million or 17 million viewers for each of the other three U.S. matches.
During the postgame show, Fox showed an apparently AI-generated video of an eagle in an American flag top hat flying over the Golden Gate Bridge. Fox has been blasted on social media for seeming to lean in to AI-generated content and graphics. Even host Rob Stone chided the video: “I don’t need AI, I got the real thing behind me,” he said, gesturing to the rowdy fans behind the analyst crew.
The U.S. will earn at least $15 million in prize money for advancing to the round of 16, where they will play Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
Belgium beat the U.S. 5–2 in March in Atlanta before the full potential of Pochettino’s squad came into view. The nations faced each other in a 2014 World Cup round of 16 game where all three goals were scored in extra time.
Wednesday’s match was the marquee event for the San Francisco Bay Area, which received one of the least exciting draws of any host city in the group stage. The U.S. is the only Pot 1 team to play in one of Northern California’s six matches.
Star Christian Pulisic was back in the starting lineup after exiting at halftime with a calf injury against Paraguay, missing the Australia match, and coming on as a substitute versus Turkey.
Balogun will be suspended for the Round of 16 in Seattle.
