USA beat Bosnia with 10 men: first World Cup knockout win since 2002, Belgium await in last 16
Balogun scored then got sent off. Tillman curled a free kick into the top corner. The United States held on to win 2-0 and end 24 years without a knockout-round victory at a World Cup.
The United States beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in Santa Clara on Tuesday night, winning their first World Cup knockout match since 2002 and setting up a last-16 clash with Belgium. They did it with ten men.
Folarin Balogun scored just before half-time to give the USMNT the lead in a match they had controlled without quite converting their dominance into goals. The finish was calm and assured, his third of the tournament. Then, shortly after the hour mark, Balogun was shown a straight red card for a foul on a Bosnia defender, leaving Pochettino's side to defend a one-goal lead for the final 30-plus minutes with a numerical disadvantage.
They held. And then, in the 82nd minute, Malik Tillman struck a free kick through the Bosnian wall and into the top corner to make it 2-0. The stadium erupted. The game was over. The last 10 minutes were a formality played out in noise.
The historical weight of the result is not trivial. The last time the United States won a World Cup knockout game was against Mexico in the 2002 round of 16 in South Korea - a match that remains one of the most celebrated in programme history. Twenty-four years of elimination at or before the group stage, or in the first knockout round without a win, ended on a warm California night with a free kick from a German-born midfielder who chose to represent his mother's country.
Pochettino's side now face Belgium in Seattle in the round of 16, a rematch opportunity for a Senegal side watching at home but a genuine test of whether this USA generation is ready to go deep in a tournament they are co-hosting. Belgium were fortunate to beat Senegal. The USMNT, despite losing Balogun to a red card, won on merit. Home crowd advantage in Seattle will be real and significant.
Christian Pulisic was not the headline act on the night - that belonged to Balogun's goal and Tillman's free kick - but he was central to everything the Americans built in the first half. His pressing, his movement and his ability to draw fouls in dangerous areas created the rhythm that led to Balogun's finish. At a home World Cup, Pulisic is performing like someone who understands the moment.
The United States are in the round of 16. For the first time since 2002, they won to get there. Follow all the 2026 World Cup action in the football news.