Down to Ten Men, One Mission: USA Ends a Twenty Year Wait.
Written By: Landon Pulmano
Contributor | Sideline Society Media
For twenty five minutes, it looked like history might repeat itself in the cruelest way. Playing a man down after a controversial red card stripped them of their most dangerous attacker. The United States men's national team had to survive a frantic final stretch against a determined Bosnia and Herzegovina. When the whistle blew, the score read 2-0, and a two decade drought was over. The win sends the U.S. into the Round of 16 for the first time since 2002, the last time the Americans won a knockout match on soccer's biggest stage. On home soil, for the first time in over thirty years, the narrative around this team just changed.
The night had been building toward drama long before the sending off. Folarin Balogun, the USMNT's sharpest forward, saw a well taken goal ruled out for offside in the 31st minute and penalty appeals waved away. Yet the sense that the U.S. was the better side never wavered. He would not be denied for long. Balogun broke the deadlock to put the Americans in front, and Malik Tillman doubled the lead with a sensational struck free kick, the 2-0 cushion that would prove decisive.
Then, deep in the second half, everything turned. A video review determined Balogun had stepped on the back of Tarik Muharemovic's leg in a battle for the ball. The challenge was not flagged in real time and looked far from malicious, but the review official saw enough. Red card. An early shower, and a suspension that rules him out of the next round. Captain Christian Pulisic didn't hide his frustration, even as he praised the response. "We put on such a good performance and didn't deserve the red card," he said. "We had to dig deep for that one."
The reward is a date with Belgium, who reached the Round of 16 with a stunning comeback over Senegal. The two meet Monday in Seattle, Lumen Field hosting one of the tournament's marquee second round fixtures. Rudi Garcia's side is physical, organized, and dangerous in transition, and the U.S. must face them without Balogun, whose suspension is a significant blow to a team that will need to find its scoring elsewhere. For now, American soccer is allowed to breathe. Watch parties broke out across the country, from Bay Area bars near the stadium to gatherings a country away, as a nation that had waited since 2002 finally got its knockout win, under the most nerve wracking circumstances imaginable. The Americans have eleven men's worth of belief and ten men's worth of proof that they can grind out a result when it matters most.
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