Americans show their mettle in advancing in World Cup

SANTA CLARA, Calif.  — The 4th of July isn’t until Saturday. But you would’ve sworn it had arrived sooner if you were on the grounds at Levi’s Stadium Wednesday.

The festive atmosphere amid a sea of red, white and blue supporters dominated the scene. The only thing missing were fireworks and a hot dog eating contest. Which by the way FIFA officials should have rigged up considering it was in world champion Joey Chestnut’s backyard (he’s a graduate of nearby San Jose State).

Actually, there were plenty of fireworks. More on that in a moment.

It was against that backdrop that the United States began its quest for true glory at the 2026 World Cup. The Americans had no excuses as they sauntered onto the pitch against Bosnia and Herzegovina on a seasonably warm summer’s late afternoon.

Of course only in FIFA’s bizzarro world does the USA play a match on Canada Day and Canada plays a game on the 4th of July when our neighbors to the North face Morocco in Houston. Makes perfect sense, right?

LOL.

But if you want truly bizarre, look no further than Folarin Balogun’s night on the pitch.

The talented striker who was born in Brooklyn, has lived most of his life in the United Kingdom and has his place on Team USA because of his birthright citizenship, something affirmed the day before by the U.S. Supreme Court, scored the first goal, had a second called back for offsides, would’ve had a third had his shot not hit the crossbar and had his night cut short when Brazilian referee Raphael Claus showed him the red card in the 64th minute following a harsh challenge, forcing the Americans to play with 10 men the rest of the way.

It left the majority of the sellout crowd of 68,827 scratching their heads wondering what had happened to the man who had dominated the match up until he was shown to the exit. It also meant Balogun’s services will not be available come Monday when the U.S. faces Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle in the Round of 16.

But they managed to survive the shorthanded situation as Malik Tillman’s free kick in the 82nd minute found the back of the net and was the capper of a 2-0 victory over the Dragons.

“I think it showed how strong a team we are,” said defender Chris Richards. “We got down a man but nobody got stressed out.

“It was unlucky for Flo but it is what it is and it was very important that we kept a clean sheet. But the cherry on top was Malik’s free kick.”

Freeman said of his big goal that helped put the game on ice: “We talked about going around the wall or going over the wall. But I practiced it in training and I’m glad it went in.”

For the Americans, everything seemed to be in place to begin the big push forward. There were no suspensions to worry about. Christian Pulisic’s left calf was fine, thank you as he returned to Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI. And the familiar faces we’ve grown accustomed to seeing — Balogun, Freeman, Richards, Tyler Adams, Matt Freese  —rejoined Weston McKennie as the real USMNT lineup showed up.
 
And they needed to. Because they figured to be tested. And indeed they were. The previous successes against Paraguay and Australia were no longer applicable here in the Round of 32. You show up and show out, or you’re on a plane headed home in the morning.

In the end, it’s the Dragons who are on the plane headed home after two breakdowns cost them their opportunity to advance.

“We had a difficult moment just before halftime,” goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj said. “We were controlling the game and out of nowhere we conceded that second goal. So two details decided the game.”

That Bosnia and Herzegovina were unable to capitalize when it had the man advantage combined with Freeman’s goal was too much to overcome.

“We had our moments after the red card,” Vasilj said. “You could feel something. The only thing missing was a goal. In the worst moment, out ion nothing, we conceded the second goal. And after that, it was really difficult though we kept trying until the last moments to do something.”

Credit the Americans’ stout defense for frustrating the Bosnians. The back line held firm and Freese came through between the pipes when he needed to. He had three saves in recording his second shutout of the tournament and the guys in front of him bailed him out time and again by blocking shot attempts, tracking runners effectively and winning the 50-50 balls in the USA end.

“We knew we had it the whole time and I’m glad it’s coming out at this time,” Richards said of proving the doubters wrong.

And with Balogun being the first player to score a goal and receive a red card ejection in a World Cup game, his teammates can laugh about it now though it was hardly funny at the time he was sent off.

“Pretty cool record, huh?” Richards said. .”We told him we got his back. We’re a team of 26, not a team of one, so ultimately we’re going to miss him for the next game. But one thing about this team is we’re really a big family.”  

Ultimately, it’s all about the result. And now it’s up to Seattle for a date with the Belgians on Monday and a chance to extend this team’s stay at the tournament it is co-hosting along with Canada and Mexico, who are also still alive.

“It wasn’t a perfect day by any means, but it was our day,” Richards said.

Indeed it was. Red cards and all.