{"id":2618,"date":"2026-07-02T07:05:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=2618"},"modified":"2026-07-02T07:05:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:05:54","slug":"usa-eliminates-bosnia-and-herzegovina-2-0-for-round-of-16-game-vs-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=2618","title":{"rendered":"USA eliminates Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 for Round of 16 game vs. Belgium"},"content":{"rendered":"
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And breathe.<\/p>\n

The U.S. men’s national team eliminated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in the World Cup Round of 32 Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area. Up next is a date vs. Belgium in the Round of 16.<\/p>\n

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Mauricio Pochettino ran the same starting lineup that routed Paraguay 4-1 in their World Cup opener, as Christian Pulisic was fit enough from the get-go. He’d lasted 87 minutes. <\/p>\n

Bosnia and Herzegovina also went with a back-five formation, which has been the Dragons’ go-to due to their lack of midfield talent. Edin Dzeko, 40, got the nod up front in a two-striker setup.<\/p>\n

The first half didn’t pick up until after the hydration break, which has been known to swing momentum throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n

Folarin Balogun found the net first with his left foot, but it was chalked off due to offsides in the build up. He didn’t stop there, though.<\/p>\n

In the 45th minute, Balogun got on the end of a deflected through ball from Malik Tillman. Just like the offside goal, he angled the ball to his left foot and slotted it through goalie Nikola Vasilj’s legs. And out came LeBron James’ “Silencer” celebration.<\/p>\n

Balogun’s first-half threat didn’t end there. He nearly put home another on a pass from the right flank, but it appeared to be a mishit off his shin and it hit the crossbar on its way up. Vasilj had narrowly been beat otherwise.<\/p>\n

Despite the advantage going into the second half, things restarted rather slow for both sides. The major swing came in the 64th minute, involving Balogun again.<\/p>\n

After a lengthy VAR review, Balogun was adjudged to have made serious foul contact against Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic. It was not initially given as a yellow card. The U.S. went down to 10 men for the rest of the game as Balogun emotionally walked off the pitch. <\/p>\n

Balogun will be unavailable to play vs. Belgium, but can return if the U.S. advances.<\/p>\n

Bosnia gained all the momentum from there in what should’ve been the moment the nation needed to get a goal and come back, a key trend throughout the Wednesday slate.<\/p>\n

But instead it was the U.S. that scored next.<\/p>\n

In the 82nd minute after winning a free kick, 24-year-old Tillman stepped up and exquisitely curled it home over a tall wall. Vasilj got a hand on it, but it wasn’t enough.<\/p>\n

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That gave the cushion the Stars and Stripes desperately needed, especially once 10 minutes of stoppage time minutes were added. Bosnia offered some scares on long-range efforts and crosses, but none dealt enough threat to Matt Freese.<\/p>\n

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It marked a deserved win for the U.S., which generated 0.92 expected goals from eight shots, per data-tracking platform FotMob. <\/p>\n

The U.S. also kept a well-earned clean sheet, a rare occurrence as of late, by holding Bosnia to just 0.25 expected goals on 10 shots. Bosnia had just seven touches in the U.S. box.<\/p>\n

The U.S. will now advance to the Round of 16 where Belgium awaits. The game will be set for Monday, July 6 in Seattle. Kickoff time is set for 8 p.m. ET\/5 p.m. PT.<\/p>\n

Belgium topped Group G that included Egypt, Iran and New Zealand. But the Red Devils only won one game, a 5-1 rout of New Zealand in the finale. They then beat Senegal 3-2 in the Round of 32 after trailing 2-0 until late in regulation, where two quick goals forced extra time.<\/p>\n

Youri Tielemans then scored a penalty in the 125th minute to send his nation through.<\/p>\n

Along with Tielemans, Belgium has Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard, Romelu Lukaku and Amadou Onana. The Red Devils look strong on paper, but the overall play under Rudi Garcia has been rather lackluster.<\/p>\n

The U.S. is equipped with the personnel to pull off the “upset” against the European side, but doing so without Balogun will be tricky. <\/p>\n

Ricardo Pepi could be in line to start and he enjoyed some moments in this game, but he’ll need to step up to the moment if called upon. Haji Wright is another striker in the squad. Pochettino could also return to using Pulisic as a false 9 and bringing in another speedy winger like Brendan Aaronson or Tim Weah.<\/p>\n

Gio Reyna and Sebastian Berhalter are also advanced midfield profiles, so there will be options. But it’ll be the dominant talking point for the entire build-up.<\/p>\n

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