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Malik Tillman gave United States soccer its most important insurance policy in the country’s history.
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The 24-year-old midfielder stepped to a free kick in the 82nd minute of Wednesday’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first knockout stage of the World Cup. The Americans, playing in front of a frenzied crowed on home soil in the San Francisco Bay Area, were down a man and nursing a 1-0 lead.
Tillman planted the free kick in the back net, taking advantage of an open right side of the net left by keeper Nikola Vasilj. It pushed the score to 2-0 and let pressure release from a stadium packed with stars and stripes.
It led to the United States advancing to the Round of 16 for the eighth time, including in their fifth straight World Cup appearance. They will play Belgium on Monday in Seattle for a chance to reach the quarterfinals, which Team USA hasn’t done since 2002, its only trip to the final eight in the modern era.
Tillman’s goal gave the Americans some much-needed breathing room while Bosnia and Herzegovina went into attack made after playing on their heels when the U.S. dominated the first half.
The story of the game to that point was Folarin Balogun, who scored a goal in the 45th minute and then was given a controversial red card in the second half. His 64th-minute foul, which the Americans believed was unwarranted and accidental, put the host nation in a precarious position despite being heavy favorites to move on to the Round of 16.
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The goal came some 20 minutes after he thought he was tripped for a penalty kick, and shortly after being half a step offside before putting the ball in the back of the net. It was Balogun’s third goal of the tournament.
But the game changed after the red card when Balogun got tangled with defender Tarik Muharemovic. Balogun stepped on Muharemovic’s ankle, but it didn’t warrant a penalty from referee Raphael Claus in real time. VAR called for a review of the play while the two were down getting tended to by trainers, leaving the Americans to nurse their lead down a man.
Star midfielder Christian Pulisic looked rusty while getting his first start since the group stage opener when he was subbed out at halftime with a calf injury. He exited in the 87th minute while only taking one shot. He had an apparent goal negated by being offsides moments before Tillman sealed it with the free kick goal.
Belgium earlier in the day came back from being down two goals to beat Senegal 3-2, capped by a penalty kick from Youri Tielemans in the 125th minute of extra time.
The U.S. and Belgium will play in the World Cup for the first time since the Round of 16 in 2014, when the “Red Devils” outlasted the Americans 2-1 in extra time while scoring goals in the 93rd and 105th minutes.
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