The United States has progressed to the Round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup taking place across North America. This represents their first win in a World Cup competition in 24 years, dating back to the 2002 event held in South Korea and Japan. As the U.S. joins host nations Canada and Mexico in the next stage, the excitement among local supporters is growing stronger.
On July 2 (local time in South Korea), the United States won against Bosnia and Herzegovina with a score of 2-0 during their Round of 32 game held at the stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area. The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup hosted by South Korea and Japan after beating Mexico in the Round of 16, but have faced multiple setbacks in elimination rounds ever since. With this initial win in the competition, they now hope to exceed their highest achievement so far, which was making it to the quarterfinals.
The game was controlled by the United States right from the beginning. During the 33rd minute of the first half, the U.S. forced Bosnia's defenders into an error, leading to a successful interception. Paul Balogun, the U.S.'s top forward (from AS Monaco), took possession of the ball, outmaneuvered a defender, and found the net, although the goal was disallowed due to being offside.
The United States maintained their aggressive attack and eventually netted the first goal in the 45th minute. Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen) made a sharp pass which bounced off a Bosnian player and landed ideally for Balogun. He took full advantage of the situation to score the decisive goal.
The United States encountered difficulties in the second half. At the 16th minute, Balogun injured the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović (Sassuolo) while making a tackle. Following a video assistant referee (VAR) check, Balogun was shown a yellow card. Playing with ten men, the U.S. concentrated on defensive play, as Bosnia initiated quick counterattacks.
Nevertheless, Bosnia did not manage to generate meaningful opportunities because of low-quality passes into the box. In the 33rd minute, however, Christian Pulisic (AC Milan) received a penetrating pass and netted a goal, although it was disallowed for being offside. That instance left Bosnia shaken.
In the 37th minute, Tillman delivered a curling free kick into the upper left corner, increasing the U.S. advantage to 2-0. Following this, Bosnia launched an intense offensive but was unable to overcome the U.S. defensive line. The United States will now compete against Belgium on July 7 in a crucial quarterfinal match.