The Americans are moving on — without one of their biggest stars.
The U.S. secured its second-ever World Cup knockout stage victory in Wednesday night’s 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32 despite being forced to play a man down for much of the second half, but they will have to play their next match without striker Folarin Balogun, who has scored three of the team’s eight goals in the World Cup.
Balogun, whose match-opening goal put the U.S. ahead just before halftime, was given a red card in the 64th minute after a terribly interpreted review of accidental contact — in which the Brooklyn-born forward stepped on the ankle of defender Tarik Muharemovic — triggering an automatic suspension for Balogun for the next round while leaving Mauricio Pochettino’s team with 10 men for the rest of the match.
The U.S will next play Monday in Seattle against Belgium, which stunned Senegal, 3-2, after scoring twice in the final minutes of the second half, then converting a penalty kick in the 125th minute for the latest goal in World Cup history. In March, Belgium won a friendly match, 5-2, against the U.S. in Atlanta.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
