The United States beat Bosnia 2-0 and booked their place in the Round of 16 thanks to goals from Balogun (45')and Tillman (82'). The hosts — who have now secured qualification for the fourth straight time — will face Belgium next Monday in Seattle in what promises to be a thrilling clash.
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Against Bosnia, Pochettino's side started well and took the lead at the end of the first halfthanks to Balogun, who scored his third goal of the World Cup and his 12th for the national team. The move came from a double deflection by the Bosnian defense: Radeljic intercepted a through ball from Tillman, but the ball fell to Muharemovic and turned into an unintentional assist for the striker, who made it 1-0.
Bosnia tried to hang on by relying on set pieces and long balls. Demirovic created the first chance, while a corner from Alajbegovic was cleared off the line by Freese. The match changed in the 64th minute. Balogun was sent off after a VAR review for contact with Muharemovic that referee Claus judged to be violent conduct. The USA were down to 10 men.
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Bosnia increased their attacking pressure even after Dzeko went off with a muscle injury in what was his final appearance for the national team at age 40. Despite being a man down, the Americans defended in an organized way and continued to look dangerous on the counter. Pulisic also found the net in the 79th minute, but it was ruled out for offside. Shortly after, the second goal arrived anyway: from a free kick taken by Tillman, Vasilj reacted late and the ball made it 2-0 for good.
The United States will now face Belgium in the Round of 16: a matchup that brings back memories of 2014, when the team then coached by Klinsmann were knocked out in extra time by the Belgians.
Dzeko played his final match in a Bosnia shirt. The captain says goodbye to the national team at 40 and becomes the first player aged 40 or older to appear in a World Cup knockout match.
Bosnia then thanked its captain, calling him a legend as well as one of the best strikers of the 21st century.
After scoring the opener, Balogun was sent off early in the second half for a bad challenge on Muharemovic. After a VAR check, the referee decided on a red card and the United States were left with 10 men.
The decision sparked quite a bit of controversy because Balogun's challenge on the Serbian defender was very similar to Messi 's in the match against Algeria , which in that case was not punished with a sending-off.
In the post-match press conference, Pochettino also commented on the referee's decision, saying that the Stars and Stripes forward's foul was not intentional and therefore should not have been punished with a red card.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
