USMNT player ratings: Tillman shines as U.S. books...

playGomez: USMNT will grow from win vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina (1:33) Folarin Balogun's goal created the belief the United States' men's national team was set for the 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16, but his red card in Wednesday's second half created a truckload of doubt. But Malik Tillman stepped up to score a curling free kick that secured a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in a round-of-32 match at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (Levi's Stadium) in Santa Clara, California. Beating Bosnia-Herzegovina means the U.S. will advance to the round of 16 where it will face Belgium on Monday at Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field). In March, the U.S. was left to face major questions after a 5-2 loss to the European heavyweight in a friendly match in Atlanta. Here's a look at what happened Wednesday, how it happened and what allowed the U.S. to advance. Mauricio Pochettino, 7 -- Pochettino's tactical approach was tested in nearly every way. There was how the U.S. opened the match by facilitating its attack down the right rather than the left, which has become so familiar. There were those times when the Americans alternated between their 4-2-3-1 and a 3-5-2. However, Balogun's red card with more that 30 minutes remaining in regulation time left the U.S. trying to find the sort of success away from the ball that would see them through to the round of 16. It was an approach that saw the U.S. hold firm until it went on the counters that eventually led to Tillman scoring off a free kick for a 2-0 lead. GK Matt Freese, 6 -- Freese became a much more active figure once the U.S. went down to 10 compared to when Balogun was on the pitch. He didn't see much to open the match beyond calmly punching away one shot from Ermedin Demirovic, before making a two-fisted save on a corner that looked as if it was about to dip into the goal. RB Alex Freeman, 6 -- Freeman tended to stay back on defense when the U.S. shifted between a 4-2-3-1 and into a 3-5-2. The 21-year-old would take a more active role with the U.S. going down to 10 and working with Sergiño Dest to stop attacks down the right. CB Chris Richards, 6 -- The U.S. owning so much of the ball meant Richards wasn't really asked to do much to start. Until, well, Balogun's red card forced everyone into preserving a lead rather than adding to that advantage. Especially when he had that block in the 88th minute that kept Bosnia-Herzegovina from potentially scoring. CB Tim Ream, 7 -- Ream was instrumental in several ways. It started with some of the long balls he tried playing into Bosnia's zone when the U.S. was trying to find an opening. There was his head's up play from Nikola Vasilj's goal kick that led to him getting a foot on the ball and was the start of a sequence that ended with Balogun celebrating a 1-0 lead within a minute. Yet what was arguably his greatest contribution came when he led the effort to preserve that one-goal lead once Balogun went off. LB Antonee Robinson, 6 -- He had a few moments of activity in the first half. But it really took the match drifting to the left side for Robinson to really be more a factor. However, like everyone else, the match changed for him when he was part of a structure that worked to keep Bosnia from tying the match after Balogun's red card. CM Tyler Adams, 7 -- Adams kept things moving again Wednesday with how he could be a fall back whenever the U.S. needed to reset against a Bosnian low block that didn't allow much. Yet his quick flick to Tillman that helped set up Balogun's goal was both a literal and figurative nice touch. Of course, going down to 10 players saw Adams take a leading role in the defensive presence to stall Bosnia-Herzegovina. CM Malik Tillman, 8 -- Tillman was once again a significant driver of play even before his free kick gave the U.S. a much-needed two-goal cushion. He helped facilitate attacks that turned into shots and played the ball to Balogun that led to the 1-0 lead. He was then called into action with Adams as their partnership provided a level of protection when Bosnia began threatening before his curling free kick pushed it to 2-0. The USMNT are through to the round of 16 thanks to a suburb performance from midfielder Malik Tillman. Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles TimesAM, Sergiño Dest, 6 -- Dest appeared to be more active against Bosnia-Herzegovina than at any point in this tournament because of that willingness to create from the right. The header he had in the first half made its way to Balogun and almost gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead. However, Dest's efforts on defense were just as important in preventing Bosnia from posing a threat. AM Weston McKennie, 7 -- Everything McKennie did was with the intent of either connecting play or finding a way to connect play by working to get the ball back. His presence in the first half made him the U.S.' most active player to start the match. The red card forced him into a more defensive role before he took an active role in a counterattack that paid dividends.

USMNT player ratings: Tillman shines as U.S. books...

Key takeaways

More in sports