After its biggest World Cup win in decades, the U.S.will have to do it all again without its top scorer after Folarin Balogun received a controversial red card.
Elsewhere, two European powerhouses in England and Belgium survived major scares to advance.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.There are three more knockout games today.Follow along on the NBC News live blog.World Cup RecapGarrincha.
Ronaldinho.Zinedine Zidane.
To that list of players to score a goal and receive a red card in a World Cup match we can now add Folarin Balogun.The United States’ top goal scorer at this tournament can consider himself unlucky.His sending off yesterday after opening the scoring in an impressive, if scrappy, round of 32 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina was arguably less forceful than Lionel Messi’s unpunished challenge in Argentina’s opening match.
Balogun’s dismissal caused feverish debate online.Despite the setback, meaning the Stars and Stripes had to play the last 35 minutes in San Francisco with 10 men, the team went on to score again through a late Malik Tillman free kick, to make it 2-0.It’s the first win in a men’s World Cup knockout game since 2002 and the first against a European team in the knockouts.United States' Malik Tillman scores their second goal from a free kick during the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday.Martin Meissner / APThe U.S.
faces Belgium on Monday in Seattle and will have to reach greater heights against a team ranked ninth in the world — this time without Balogun, who must serve a one-match suspension.But even before yesterday, the U.S.has shown it’s capable of winning without key players, namely Christian Pulisic in the group stage.
Hopes are high that the U.S.bandwagon keeps rolling.
Beat Belgium and it would be only the second time in the modern era that the U.S.has reached the World Cup quarterfinals.Elsewhere, Youri Tielemans was Belgium�...