SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After December’s World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., Mauricio Pochettino noted the “competitive stress” the tournament could induce, which his U.S. men’s national team would need to be prepared for. And yet, entering a Round of 32 clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United States had hardly broken a sweat. Early leads in the team’s first two games led to wins, which rendered their group stage finale against Turkey a dead rubber where Pochettino rotated nearly his whole lineup.
While there was no early goal in Wednesday’s showdown, the U.S. starters were again in complete control in the first half. They dominated possession, probed Bosnia and Herzegovina’s flexible 5-3-2 defensive shell, and recovered the ball well.
“I felt control of the game,” Christian Pulisic said. “I thought the guys did such a good job of keeping the ball mostly in their end, and the way we attacked, we’re just persistent. It still had a good feel to it even though we didn’t get an early goal.”
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A clever flick from Tyler Adams and some fortune ensured Malik Tillman found Folarin Balogun for the breakthrough just before the break. The U.S. even pushed for a second goal in the ensuing minutes, suggesting they’d eventually extend their lead and avoid a relatively stressful second half.
THE @USMNT TAKES THE LEAD 🇺🇸
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NOW BALOGUN CAN REALLY HIT THE @KingJames SILENCER! pic.twitter.com/4t9LzMjUUG
But when Balogun was shown a red card that rules him out of Monday’s Round of 16 meeting with Belgium in Seattle – “ridiculous,” in Pulisic’s words, with Pochettino also ripping the decision postgame – the U.S. was staring at thirty minutes to preserve a one-goal lead with 10 men. Surely that stress Pochettino warned about would creep in?
It didn’t, according to USMNT captain Tim Ream.
Even though it was “probably impressive to a lot of people,” Ream downplayed the U.S. closing out the game down a player. The 38-year-old center back who embodies the team’s composure said it was “not even that impressive.” Ream noted that Bosnia and Herzegovina “had a little bit more of the ball” to finish the game, but the U.S. was “still able to keep hold of the ball, kept an unbelievable shape, and everybody knew their roles.”
“It felt really calm and really, really easy and simple for us in that moment because we all were just calm,” Ream said.
