USA's advancement brings mixed feelings: Balogun suspended, how to "avenge" Belgium?

Written by Han Bing The classic John Denver folk song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" echoed once again at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, but Balogun, the US team's top scorer in this World Cup, couldn't sing along. The US team nearly secured a last-16 spot thanks to his goal in the 45th minute, but found themselves in trouble after his red card in the 63rd minute. Fortunately, teammate Tillman's free kick in the 82nd minute saved him and ensured the US advanced to the round of 16 for the second consecutive World Cup. However, Balogun will miss at least the round of 16 match against Belgium on July 6, and may face additional suspension. For a US team eager to achieve breakthrough results as hosts, this is the biggest disappointment beyond the victory itself.

The Nigerian-born forward, who came through Arsenal's youth academy, could have become a hero of American football just like in the World Cup opener against Paraguay, thanks to his go-ahead goal in the 45th minute. After scoring, an excited Balogun performed NBA superstar LeBron James' signature celebration, which earned a positive response from James on social media. Balogun was very active in the first half: he scored in the 31st minute but was offside, then opened the scoring with Tillman's through ball, and even hit the woodwork in the 7th minute of stoppage time, narrowly missing a brace.

In the second half, fans expected Balogun to score another brace, as Bosnia's key player Džeko had withdrawn early due to injury, making it seem only a matter of time before the US scored again. But in the 62nd minute, Balogun stepped on the ankle of Bosnia defender Muharemović, causing visible deformation. After reviewing VAR, the referee sent Balogun off. The Monaco forward, who will turn 25 on July 3, received his least-wanted birthday gift. He became the first player since France's Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final to both score and be sent off in a World Cup knockout match. He also became the first US player sent off in a World Cup since Mastroeni and Pope against Italy in 2006.

The naturalized forward, poached by the US Soccer Federation from England's youth teams, had only received one direct red card in his career before this, which occurred in November last year when Monaco lost 4-1 at home to Lens. Coincidentally, in that match, he also scored in the first half to level the score for Monaco but was later sent off, leading to a heavy defeat. The US team had to play with 10 men for over half an hour in the second half, putting them in a very passive position. Fortunately, Tillman, who assisted Balogun in the first half, stepped up and scored directly from a free kick in the 82nd minute to seal the win. This naturalized player, who grew up in Germany, came through Bayern Munich's youth academy, and was also recruited by the US Soccer Federation from Germany's youth national teams, saved both the US team and Balogun, who had made a serious mistake.

After the match, US star Pulisic admitted that the red card disrupted the team's plans, but his teammates gave their all: "During the water break, we agreed that persevering is what a truly strong team must do, and fortunately we succeeded." The US team managed to overcome the numerical disadvantage thanks to the set-piece tactics that Pochettino has been diligently refining. It was the first time in nine years that the US scored a free kick in an official match; the last time was in the 2017 Gold Cup final. The last World Cup free-kick goal was by Wynalda in the 1994 group stage against Switzerland. In this World Cup, the US has scored four set-piece goals, the highest among the 48 teams. Pochettino drew inspiration from American football set-piece tactics, elevating the US team's set-piece training to an unprecedented level, and reaping corresponding rewards. Last year, he even attended a college American football game between Ohio State and Texas, not only for set-piece tactics but also to replicate the team's passion and resilience in the US men's national team.

After defeating Bosnia 2-0 to advance to the round of 16, Pochettino's US team has made history: the US has won three matches in a single World Cup for the first time, surpassing the 2-1-2 record from the 2002 World Cup. Facing Belgium in Seattle on July 6, the US aims to set a new record for most wins in a single World Cup, but Belgium is the same opponent that eliminated the US in the 2014 World Cup round of 16. Just three months ago, the US suffered a 2-5 friendly defeat to Belgium in Atlanta.

By defeating Bosnia, the US ended a 10-match losing streak against European teams. The last time the US beat a European team in the World Cup was in 2002, when they advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating a stronger Portugal side. However, this time the US is without their top scorer Balogun, which will inevitably impact their attack. Whether they can continue to make history will depend on whether their set pieces can continue to play a decisive role.