By Martin Petty
SANTA CLARA, California, July 1 (Reuters) – Ten-man United States roared 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 finding the net with a free kick late on to spark euphoria in a partisan arena of red, white and blue.
It was a physical encounter where luck was not always on the side of the hosts, with Balogun and Christian Pulisic having goals ruled out. Balogun was stunned after being dismissed for a serious foul on Tarik Muharemovic that seemed to be accidental.
Bosnia had barely threatened and looked content defending compactly and hoofing long balls upfield. But they switched up gears with the numerical advantage to press for an equaliser before Tillman came to the rescue eight minutes from time.
‘DIG IN DEEP’
Victory brought an end to a 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 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.”
In a match 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 in the Golden State that came with high expectations.
The U.S. delivered, showing speed, intensity and determination, with Balogun threatening and Pulisic back in the team, intoxicating the crowd with a few blazing runs for goal.
Tillman said his free kick had been well practiced.
“You never know when it’s going to happen but luckily today it happened. I was ready for it. I felt confident,” he said.
(Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Toby Davis)
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