United States v Bosnia and Herzegovina - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - July 1, 2026 Malik Tillman of the U.S. celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates REUTERS/Carlos Barria Purchase Licensing Rights

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 underway 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.