SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The U.S. Men’s National Team has won its first knockout round match in the FIFA World Cup since 2002.
The U.S. shut out Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in the Wednesday evening match in San Francisco.
The match wasn’t without difficulty for the Americans.
U.S. star Christian Pulisic and striker Folarin Balogun each thought they scored goals, but the offside flag was up for each.
Balogun was later given a red card and ejected from the match after his foot came down on Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemović’s calf.
Because of the red card, the U.S. had to finish the match with just 10 players on the pitch.
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Pulisic was back in the starting lineup after being slowed by a calf injury during the group stage of the World Cup.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino used the same starting lineup for the round of 32 on Wednesday night that he used when the Americans beat Paraguay 4-1 in the opener of the World Cup.
Pulisic left that game, after helping set up two first-half goals, with stiffness from the injury incurred earlier in training.
Also back in the lineup for the U.S. were four key players who sat out the game against Turkey after having received a yellow card earlier in the tournament. Striker Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams and top defenders Antonee Robinson and Chris Richards were all listed as starters against Bosnia.
The Americans had clinched the top spot in their group after winning the first two matches and didn’t want to risk a suspension for any of those players with a second yellow card in group stage.
With their win, they advance to the Round of 16, where they’ll face Belgium on Monday in Seattle.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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