World Cup: USA Beat Bosnia Despite Balogun Red Card, Belgium Knockout Senegal

The United States secured a place in the last 16 of the World Cup with a deserved 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Santa Clara, despite finishing the match with 10 men after Folarin Balogun’s second-half red card.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side controlled proceedings from the start and were rewarded when Balogun reacted quickest to turn Malik Tillman’s deflected pass beyond goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj. The Monaco striker’s night took a dramatic turn shortly after the hour when he was shown a red card after his studs caught Tarik Muharemovic on the calf following a collision.

Bosnia offered little in attack for most of the game and failed to make their numerical advantage count after Balogun’s exit. Instead, the United States wrapped up victory late on when Tillman curled a superb free-kick into the net to put the result beyond doubt.

The Americans will now face Belgium in Seattle on Monday, July 6, for a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Earlier, Belgium produced one of the World Cup’s most dramatic comebacks, overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Senegal 3-2 after extra time and secure their place in the last 16.

Rudi Garcia’s side looked destined for elimination after Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr fired Senegal into a deserved 2-0 lead. With only minutes remaining, substitute Romelu Lukaku gave Belgium hope by flicking home Thomas Meunier’s cross before captain Youri Tielemans headed in Leandro Trossard’s delivery in the 89th minute after goalkeeper Mory Diaw failed to deal with the cross.

The match was not without controversy. Tielemans and Trossard were involved in a heated exchange before the second-half hydration break, with Lukaku stepping in to calm the situation.

Belgium completed the turnaround in the 125th minute after a lengthy VAR review awarded a penalty for Lamine Camara’s challenge on Tielemans. The Aston Villa midfielder kept his composure and drilled the spot-kick into the top corner to seal a remarkable victory.