On the night of Thursday, July 2, the 1/16 finals of the 2026 World Cup took place, in which the teams of the USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina fought.
Mauricio Pochettino's team successfully completed the first stage of the playoffs at home, defeating their opponents with a score of 2:0, despite the fact that they played in the minority.
The US team dominated the first half of the match, but for a long time could not overcome the Balkan defense. Only in the last minutes of the half were the Stars and Stripes able to take the lead in this match thanks to a goal from Folarin Balogun. In the 45th minute, Malik Tillman made a pass into the penalty area, after a rebound from the defenders the ball ended up with the striker, who sent it into the goal from the penalty area.
In the second half, Bosnia and Herzegovina tried to take the initiative into their own hands, which was also possible due to the sending off of a US national team player. In the 64th minute, the scorer of the first goal roughly stepped on Tarik Muharemovich's foot from behind, and the referee, in consultation with VAR, issued a straight red card to Balogun.
Having gained a numerical advantage and falling behind in the score, the Bosnians tried to change the situation, but they failed to achieve what they wanted. The Americans, in turn, played mainly on defense and on counterattacks, and towards the end of the match they also managed to double their score. In the 82nd minute, Tillman took a free kick over the wall and curled the ball into the left corner of the goal..
In the 1/8 finals of the 2026 World Cup, the US team will meet with Belgium, which previously pulled out a victory over Senegal.
Match statistics USA - Bosnia and Herzegovina 1/16 finals of the 2026 World Cup USA - Bosnia and Herzegovina 2:0 Goals: Balogun, 45, Tillman, 82 Expected goals (xG): 0. 92 - 0. 24 Ball possession: 48% - 52% Shots: 8 - 10 Shots on target: 2 - 3 Corners: 4 - 3 Fouls: 7 - 13 New on Telegram and WhatsApp. Subscribe to our channels https://t. me/korrespondentnet and WhatsApp.