Balogun scores – Folarin Balogun gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup round of 32 with his third goal of the tournament, only for a red card early in the second half to leave the Americans playing a man short for the rest of the match. The
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The night started with a familiar kind of noise in the stands. and it kept rising as Folarin Balogun found the net for the United States. Then. early in the second half. everything swung in a single decision when Balogun was shown a red card and the Americans had to finish a World Cup round of 32 match with one less player.
Balogun scored the opening goal in the 45th minute to put the U.S. ahead of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the team ultimately held on for a 2-0 win on Wednesday night. It was his third goal of the tournament and his 12th international goal. but it came with a twist: his first celebration after scoring was short-lived when the goal was disallowed for offside.
The sequence around his first attempt set the tone. In the 31st minute. Balogun celebrated a goal using the “The Silencer” move made famous in the NBA by LeBron James — twice — only for the flag to go up for offside. This time. he didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the stadium to settle; the disallowed moment gave way to a renewed push for the breakthrough.
That breakthrough arrived at the end of the first half. Malik Tillman’s pass was deflected into Balogun’s path after Bosnia’s Stjepan Radeljic attempted a sliding clearance. The ball then took another hop off a foot of Tarik Muharemovic before Balogun struck with his left foot. sending it between goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj and the far post for his third goal of the tournament.
But just as the U.S. edge looked secure, Balogun’s night turned dark. He was shown a red card early in the second half by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus after he stepped on Muharemovic’s right ankle. Claus did not initially signal a card, but he sent Balogun off after a video review.
The Americans were forced to play a man short for the remainder of the match, and that red card carried added weight beyond this game. Balogun has to serve an automatic one-game suspension for Monday’s round of 16 game against Belgium.
There was a rare historical echo to his situation as well. Balogun became the third player to score and be sent off in a World Cup knockout game. following Brazil’s Ronaldinho. who was sent off in a 2002 quarterfinal against England. and France’s Zinedine Zidane. who was sent off in the 2006 final against Italy.
In the aftermath, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted it wasn’t meant to harm. “It never was intentional,” he said. “It’s never a red card. Never. … If the intention is to damage the opponent, OK, I understand. But that never was. It was a normal action in football that you are fighting for the ball and your feet land.”.
Defender Chris Richards backed his teammate too, framing it as a collective response rather than a single-player setback. “We told him we’ve got his back. We’re a team of 26, not just one,” Richards said. “One man’s down, the next guy steps up.”
Even the celebration that started as entertainment carried a deeper edge to the occasion. The “Silencer” move was designed by LeBron James, now 41 years old and the NBA’s career scoring leader, to help quiet a hostile opposing crowd. For his part, James also celebrated on social media.
Balogun also found a place in U.S. World Cup scoring history. He matched Landon Donovan’s total from 2010 for the second-most goals by an American in a World Cup, behind only Bert Patenaude, who scored four in the initial tournament in 1930.
The red card added to another heavy thread in U.S. tournament history: the win came after the Americans collected their fifth World Cup red card. The prior sendings-off were Eric Wynalda against Czechoslovakia in 1990. Fernando Clavijo against Brazil in 1994. and Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope against Italy in 2006.
For now, the scoreboard reads 2-0, and the United States are through. But Balogun’s second-half red — and the timing of it — ensures the story of Wednesday night will continue into the biggest test on the calendar.
Folarin Balogun USA vs Bosnia-Herzegovina World Cup round of 32 red card Raphael Claus Tarik Muharemovic Malik Tillman Stjepan Radeljic Nikola Vasilj Belgium Mauricio Pochettino Chris Richards