By Martin Petty
SANTA CLARA, California, July 1 (Reuters) – Ten-man United States moved into the last 16 at the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Bosnia on Wednesday, ending a 24-year wait for a knockout-stage win to keep alive hopes of an American dream run in soccer’s global showpiece.
In a dramatic high-tempo game in the San Francisco Bay Area, Folarin Balogun scored near halftime then was sent off after the break, with Malik Tillman converting a free kick late on to spark euphoria in a partisan arena of red, white and blue.
Victory brought an end to a dismal U.S. run of 10 consecutive defeats by European opposition, and set up a last-16 tie in Seattle with Belgium, who had earlier rallied from two goals down to beat Senegal 3-2 after extra time.
“I felt we put on such a good performance and didn’t deserve the red card,” said Christian Pulisic.
“But for us to dig in deep like that and just to get another goal and to defend the way we did, it took a real team effort, but we’re proud of that.”
It was a physical encounter in the Golden State where luck was not always on the side of the hosts, with Balogun and Pulisic having goals ruled out and Bosnia crowding out their defence to stifle a succession of U.S. attacks.
Balogun was always a threat, coming close a few times early on before seizing his chance, slotting home a loose ball to put the hosts ahead for his third goal of the tournament.
He was stunned when he was dismissed after the break for a serious foul on Tarik Muharemovic that appeared accidental.
PATRIOTIC FERVOUR
Playing in their first-ever World Cup knockout round match, Bosnia had barely threatened and looked content defending compactly and hoofing long balls upfield towards Edin Dzeko, who forced a save early on from goalkeeper Matt Freese.
In a match full of patriotic fervour that got under way with a flyover by fighter jets, the Americans started with attacking verve and silky one-touch moves, spurred on by the reverberating roars of U-S-A by a crowd with high expectations.
And the U.S. delivered, showing speed, grit and intensity, with talisman Pulisic back in the team and intoxicating the crowd with a few blazing runs for goal.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino was certain Balogun’s foul was not intentional and hailed his team’s ability to battle on.
“The team showed the qualities, the capacity to compete, to fight for each other,” he said. “Yes, I am so proud, so proud about the players. They are the heroes.”
Bosnia’s coach Sergej Barbarez was disappointed they did not create more chances but praised his players for getting this far in the tournament.
“We should hold our heads up high and we can really improve and build on this,” he said.
(Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Toby Davis and Ken Ferris)
