U.S. men piling up historic moments at World Cup, but focus is on the here and now

U.S. midfielder Malik Tillman, right, celebrates with teammates after his goal during the second half of Wednesday’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) By Kevin Baxter Staff Writer Follow July 2, 2026 8:19 AM PT 5 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Mauricio Pochettino’s team continues to do things in this summer’s World Cup that no U.S. team has ever done before. Its three wins are the most in a single tournament. So are the 10 goals in four games. It has the best goal differential ever and its two shutouts ties a record. Yet all that means absolutely nothing to the players. “They’re great milestones,” captain Tim Ream said. “But I don’t think anybody’s even once mentioned the different things that we’re doing. We’re focused on what we’re doing daily on the training ground, because that puts us in the best possible position to to put these performances. Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman score as the U.S. advances. Balogun later gets a red card and won’t be available for World Cup match against Belgium. “So yeah, not aware or even worried about records that we’re breaking.” With Wednesday’s gritty 2-0 over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a game the U.S. finished with just 10 men, the Americans won a game in the World Cup knockout stage for just the second time. That sends them on to a round-of-16 meeting with Belgium on Monday in Seattle where a win would be — you guessed it — historic. “It’s cool and it’s great and it’s an accomplishment,” midfielder Weston McKennie said of the records. “But at the same time, we have high expectations for ourselves. That’s what we expect of ourselves, what we expect of our team. “We just want to focus on Belgium now and continue to try to make history.” That chore got a good deal more difficult because of an unwanted team record that was also set Wednesday. When Folarin Balogun scored a goal late in the first half then drew a red card early in the second, he became the first American — and third player ever — to get one of each in the same World Cup knockout game. “Cool record,” defender Chris Richards said. But while the goal, Balogun’s third of the tournament, proved to be all the U.S. needed to beat Bosnia, the red card — which cannot be appealed according to U.S. Soccer — means he’s suspended for the game with Belgium. “It’s just so unfortunate, honestly,” Christian Pulisic said. “Looking back at it, it seems so harsh. I just told him he’s done so much for us, and now we’ve got his back.” FIFA has no mechanism that would allow the U.S. to contest a red card issued to top scorer Folarin Balogun, suspending him from the team’s next match. The red card came in the 64th minute with the U.S. protecting a 1-0 lead built on Balogun’s goal just before the intermission. The American striker was battling hulking Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic for a loose ball when he inadvertently raked Muharemovic’s right calf with his studs up, then landed on his ankle, twisting it awkwardly. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus did not flash either card before stopping play at the behest of the video assistant referee. But after consulting a slow-motion reply, Claus gave Balogun a red card for a dangerous challenge. “For me, never is this a red card,” said Pochettino, now the winningest U.S. coach in World Cup history. “Watching after on TV, never was [it his] intention to step up on the player. That was a normal action in football.” Maybe. But Claus sent Balogun off just the same, leaving the U.S. to protect a one-goal advantage for the final 30 minutes while playing a man down. It was probably the sternest test the Americans have faced in the tournament. “It would be easy to have an excuse if they did score,” McKennie said. “But that’s not the type of team we are.” For Ream, the challenge was actually no challenge at all. “Would it be weird if I downplayed this and said [I] wasn’t even fazed by it?” he said. “It didn’t feel like we were down a man. We were still able to carve out chances and we were still able to keep hold of the ball. Everybody knew their roles. “It felt really calm and felt really, really easy and simple for us in that moment.” And that allowed another hero to shrug off the pain of his own wounds and step up big. Early in the second half a Bosnian player stomped on Malik Tillman, shredding his boot and cutting his right foot (but not drawing a red card). During the hydration break, Tillman was able to change shoes and in the 82nd minute, his white sock turning red with blood, he found himself standing over a free kick just outside the Bosnian penalty area. “I’ve been dreaming about this game. I’ve been dreaming a

U.S. men piling up historic moments at World Cup, but focus is on the here and now

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