USA ended Bosnia and Herzegovina’s dream run in the FIFA World Cup 2026 after defeating them 2-0 in their round of 32 clash in Santa Clara on Thursday, July 2 (IST), in a roller-coaster night for Folarin Balogun. The Monaco striker scored the opener in the 45th minute but was later shown a red card early in the second half for his challenge on Tarik Muharemovic.
Balogun’s opener was disallowed in the 32nd minute for offside before he stepped up in the 45th minute to smash his left foot between the goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj and the far post for his third goal in this World Cup. However, he was sent off after stepping on Muharemovic’s right ankle in the 64th minute. USA scored another to beat Bosnia and set up a round-of-16 clash against Belgium. Meanwhile, Balogun has set a unique record in the tournament’s history.ย
Balogun fifth to score and receive red card in knockouts
Balogun has become the first player from the USA and just the fourth overall in the history of the tournament to score a goal and receive a red card in a World Cup knockout match. The last player to have achieved the unique feat was France’s Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 final, while former Brazil stars Ronaldinho and Garrincha had entered the list in the 2002 quarterfinal and the 1962 semifinal.
The suspension will now see the Monaco striker miss the round of 16 for the co-hosts as they gear up for a stern test against Belgium, who defeated Senegal earlier in the day 3-2. Teammate Christian Pulisic reflected on the suspension. “It’s so unfortunate, honestly,” teammate Christian Pulisic said following Wednesday’s 2-0 win. “It just seems so harsh for us to get that. He’s done so much for us, and now we got his back. If he has to miss the next game, it’s just ridiculous for something like that.”
Later, Malik Tillman scored in the 82nd minute to double the lead and kill the game for Bosnia.ย Tillman has now become the first USA man to score a direct free-kick at the World Cup in the last 32 years, since Eric Wynalda did it against Switzerland in 1994. This was the US’s second win in aย knockout game in World Cup history, after their round of 16 win over Mexico in 2002.
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