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2 weeks ago
30
Key events
57 min BIH clearly believe they can force more mistakes from the US defense with a high press. Maybe time to introduce a defender or ask Robinson to play back more?
55 min BIH possess for a while, then play long, and the US defenders misjudge it in the wind. That leaves BIH with possession closer to the goal, and the USA are relieved to see center back Katić inexplicably blasting the ball over the bar from 35 yards.
54 min If I were coaching the USA, I might be looking at replacing Tillman. His passing just isn’t sharp here.
49 min BIH play the ball out while Džeko, surely the most inspirational figure in BIH sport, comes up with some sort of non-contact leg injury. He’ll be subbed out, which is unfortunate.
All the subs:
US-born Bajraktarević, Gigovic, Džeko off. Mahmić, Šunjić and … Tahirovic in.
48 min Two balls on the field, and Pulisic picks one to dribble down the left. He puts in a high cross. Balogun is hauled down away from the ball but won’t get a call there. USA corner. Awkwardly punched, but the USA can’t capitalize.
47 min Ream intercepts a through ball.
Pulisic fouled. Takes it quickly to Balogun, who fouls. BIH take it quickly. I’m exhausted just watching this.
Got some fun email right at the end of halftime. Will get back to it.
46 min Unconvincing passes around the back from the US defense. They go long and turn it over.
46 min: We’re back. Big shadows across the field.
“I’m glad the Supreme Court ruled that (Balogun) can play as a citizen today!” – Paul Fox
For the record, I don’t think the Court would have invalidated existing citizenships. It would’ve just kept future Baloguns from being able to get it.
“This American side has no chill, they only have one way to play and that is at full tilt. They lack a playmaker, but as Jürgen Klopp noted, you don’t need one if you press well. There’s a brittleness to the team, but by never slowing down, the opponent has no time to test them. They remind me of no one as much as the 2002 South Koreans.” – Kári Tulinius
“That’s a flagrant 2. Džeko was head-hunting.” – Joe Pearson
I initially saw it as a collision, but upon seeing a replay … yeah.
“Yeah, sigh. The unmerited swagger another follower mentioned is just typical American .. du n’importe quoi sh*t. I’ve honestly never felt less invested in the USMNT because at least in previous tournaments we were treated as the nobodies in men’s soccer that we still are, so anytime the squad played with heart I rejoiced. I feel sickened tbh by all the brainless hype. I prefer the English tough love route. The United States’ 250th bday in two days and we’re already in total societal downfall and decay (IT’S A WORLD RECORD WOOHOO!). I’m proud that visiting fans have loved Texas bbq, mechanical bulls, drank bars dry, delighted in the culture. The culture is everything. But the rest of this country is truly sick. USA! USA! USA! I just don’t feel right about it anymore. It’s a tossup for the gold medal of corruption: US government or FIFA? FIFA or US government? Is it time for a pausa de hidratación yet? Thank God for Telemundo.” – Liisa Sletzinger
“As an 80s Kid, everytime I see the US Men’s National Team abbreviation, I just have to think of the Mutant Ninja Turtles.” – Andreas Agduyeng
Thanks for the virtual poster!
Jeff Rueter
Final third entries so far: USA 38, BIH 10.
Lots of mail …
“The joy of having the USA play in the World Cup at our Santa Clara stadium is bittersweet for Santa Clara residents that paid $90M of our taxpayer money for a stadium that nearly bankrupted us and is calling itself the ‘San Francisco Stadium.’ San Jose and San Francisco are raking in all the profits from this game and we are sitting here unable to afford to clear the cockroaches from our streets having paid for all the extra security needed for this match. I guess we’ll have to build more data centers to make up for the budget shortfall.” – Hyrax
“Senegal must wish they had the same VAR people as the ones looking at this game and the England game.” – Burt Bosma
“I think the American football fans tend to be more cosmopolitan and less jingoistic than the average American sport fan, quite the opposite to the English hooligan stereotype. Will concede that yew ssssssseeeeee aaaaaaaa is a dull and unimaginative chant especially compared to the Australian beauty about Donald Trump. Also in geopolitics the fact that American star Christian Pulišić is a Croat (actually a Croatian citizen according to Wikipedia) with all that history in the former Yugoslavia seems to be under remarked upon in a match against B&H. Keep up the good work!” – Bartholomew Motes
Halftime: USA 1-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
The USA have played about 40% as well as they did against Australia and Paraguay. Passes are missing their targets – complete, perhaps, but forcing players to reach back or dig the ball out of their own feet. The defense switched off completely on a goal kick early in the game – remember, no offside on goal kicks!
But the quality is still there. Especially with Balogun, who scrambled to get a shot that he finished well. That’s the difference so far.
45 min +10 The precocious Alajbegović is down after a collision with Adams. He gets up and is furious. No free kick – it’s a dropped ball to the USA, and they somehow knock it out of play.
45 min +7 BALOGUN OFF THE TOP OF THE BAR! Adams finds Dest, who heads the ball down in front of the goal. Balogun barely beats the defender to it and tries to flick it into the top of the net, but it skims off the top like the torpedoes in the attack on the Death Star before Luke blew it up. (Spoiler.)
45 min +6 Pulisic is pulled, held and everything else along the sideline. The referee, who has been poor (and I rarely say that, as a referee myself), gives the free kick but not a card.
45 min +5 Pulisic tracks back to help out, and the USA win it back and play it up toward him, winning a throw-in.
After he fell, Adams flailed his arms around, which people generally don’t do when they suffer a concussion. He wants to continue, but he’ll need to wait a minute. Literally. New Law and all that. Now he’s back.
Physios are still working on Adams. McKennie is having a go at the fourth official. The USA believe this was a foul. I don’t think so, honestly.
45 min +2 Five minutes of stoppage time signaled, but it’ll be more because Adams and Džeko have collided.
Tillman’s pass forward actually came off a defender, but it took a fortunate redirection toward the Monaco striker at the top of the box. He held off a defender and slotted it home.
Goal! USA 1-0 BIH (Balogun 45)
It’s one of the sloppiest goals the USA have scored, but it’s beautiful to the crowd here.
44 min BIH on the attack now in the shadows of whatever they’re calling this stadium for the World Cup. Forced back, but they keep the ball.
Jeff Rueter
The US really need to find a way to get the left side of their attack going. Becoming too easy for Bosnia to station themselves to slow the right-sided buildup between Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest.
42 min Tillman finds Balogun making a near-post run, but he’s not actually near the near post. Goal kick.
41 min Muharemovic steps on Balogun’s foot. Free kick to the right of the box (from the USA’s perspective).
40 min Dest passes it behind McKennie.
39 min BIH nearly catch the USA on the counter, but they retreat back into their parked bus.
Clever run from Pulisic, and he chips it across the goal mouth.
38 min Quick play on the right, but Balogun’s cross to Pulisic isn’t accurate.
38 min Balogun is rugby-tackled in the penalty area. Pre-2026, that was a foul.
37 min USA build on the right. Again.
Freeman hits a backpass from midfield way too softly, but the US defense recover.
36 min Freese races to the top of his penalty area to snare a cross.
35 min This might be BIH’s first spell of possession. Not that they’re really planning to do so – the game plan is as expected: Go direct, get a set piece, score from that.
33 min Not sure why the USA keep building up on the right when Pulisic is on the left. They don’t get anywhere.
No goal! Pending review
Balogun has put the ball in the net with another great finish, but he needed to get back onside before receiving that pass in a shocking amount of space in the center of the field.
BIH get away with a defensive breakdown. USA need more poise here.
31 min THAT, on the other hand, is a terrible call. Dest and Radeljić bump shoulders, and the giant BIH defender falls. The referee calls a foul. Come on.
29 min Balogun falls in the penalty area! No. It’s like the Harry Kane call today. He was already on the way down when minimal contact was made.
28 min Robinson plays the ball out deep in the BIH half and is looking extremely frustrated.
28 min Alex Freeman is down – the US bench certainly thought he was fouled. USA continue play, though, as Freeman slowly stands.
27 min USA come out of the break in another gear, ramping up the pressure.
Free kick BIH, as Robinson angrily gestures that it was a dive.
Hydration mail
“The bad news for whichever of these teams wins tonight it that they’ll face Belgium, who are now officially the New Germany: they might look like a dead horse being flogged for 80+minutes, but unless you drive a 3-goal stake through their heart, they are going to rise from the coffin and bite you.” – Justin Kavanagh
“I was born and grew up in the US and have no connection to Bosnia but I’m rooting for Bosnia mainly because I never want to hear the irritating “yoo ess ay! yoo ess ay!” chant again. The US men also seem to have this irritating swagger and sense of superiority that doesn’t quite fit a team with their good-but-not-great international resumé, and I feel like they could do with being taken down a peg. I wonder if this comment alone will mean I get turned away at the border the next time I go visit my parents.” – Ruby Pratka
22 min Tillman dummies to Balogun, played for Robinson, then to Pulisic, but he can’t get there.
Everybody hydrate!
21 min Not sure how Tillman wasn’t called for a foul there, though Muharemovic did fall to ground a bit easily, and as we saw with Harry Kane, that doesn’t help.
Corner to the USA – Vasilj punches well, showing no ill effects of the earlier clash.
20 min The USA do a better job this time of defending the goal kick, a sentence I never thought I’d write. Pulisic is quickly fouled at midfield. USA possess again.
Jeff Rueter
Weston McKennie and Tim Ream spending additional time alongside Mauricio Pochettino as Nikola Vasilj is treated. Very different instruction sets, no doubt, but Ream will be crucial to unlock the left side of the US attack.
Jeff Rueter
Bosnia and Herzegovina had one of the lowest field tilts – a possession metric which only tracks attacking-third touches – of any team that advanced from the group, and they seem plenty comfortable with letting the United States bear the burden of dragging the ball around the park.
Sergiño Dest has been pressing the left side of their defense; if Antonee Robinson and Christian Pulisic can get the same downhill patterns running, it could stretch the visitors out and create more room for Folarin Balogun and the midfielders to find shooting lanes.
18 min CHANCE FOR USA! Through ball to McKennie, who has acres of space. He crosses, and Vasilj punches it straight into Robinson’s head! But it flies over the bar.
Vasilj is down hurt.
