The United States on Wednesday booked its place in the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a resilient 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Folarin Balogun gave the Americans an early advantage, scoring his third goal of the tournament before his night took a dramatic turn.
Balogun was shown a straight red card after inadvertently landing on a Bosnia defender’s ankle, ruling him out of the United States’ round of 16 clash against Belgium in Seattle on July 6.
Reduced to 10 men, Malik Tillman curled a free kick into the net to double the Americans’ lead.
The Americans entered the knockout stage after a group campaign in which they comfortably won their opening two matches before suffering a 3-2 defeat to Türkiye in their final group fixture.
Fans of Bosnia and Herzegovina meanwhile, showed their support for Palestine on their way to the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
They chanted: “Palestina, Palestina” with Palestinian flags alongside Bosnian flags.
Many Bosnia and Herzegovina fans cheer for Palestine because they see parallels between Palestinians’ experience and their own history of war, ethnic cleansing, violence and displacement during the 1992 – 1995 Bosnian War.