It is said, probably more often than is necessary, that a team that loses a player to a red card must be prepared to suffer. This is particularly true when the team that has gone down a man has a lead to protect. As soon as that card comes out, fans must prepare to watch their team hunker down, absorb constant pressure from the opponent, and pray to god that they can hold onto the lead.
It's not always like this, though. Sometimes, the talent disparity between two teams is so vast that the superior squad can go down a man and still control the game, even dominate it in certain phases. It's rare to see this happen, and when it does it serves as a reminder of how far talent, and each individual player's belief in their own talent, can go. So imagine my surprise, my utter, worldview-altering shock, upon seeing the USMNT, the historically talent-deficient and swaggerless international soccer team I've loved but never expected much from, brush away Bosnia and Herzegovina in the knockout round, 2-0, despite being down a man for 36 minutes.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a very good team, and the Dragons were proving it through the first 64 minutes of Wednesday night's game. Folarin Balogun's goal in the 45th minute was the result of a sustained application of pressure from the Americans that could have produced another goal or two had a few breaks gone the other direction. The USMNT was in control, and cruising towards the round of 16, until Balogun was banished from the field thanks to a VAR-induced red card.
At this moment, I was positive that the game was going to go in one of two directions. The USMNT would suffer greatly, but ultimately escape with the win thanks to some heroic defending and a few lucky bounces, or they would crumble, give up the equalizer, and ultimately end up losing in extra time or taking their chances in a shootout. Never did I expect to see what actually happened, which was the USMNT playing out the rest of the game like a team that knew it was going to get a second goal.
The Americans suffered, yes, and spent plenty of time defending their own penalty area with two solid banks of four defenders, but they also never hesitated to make use of the ball when they had it. I think I knew for sure that an unexpected future was unfolding before me when Malik Tillman hit a heavy backheel into the box for Weston McKennie, who looped a cross back to Tillman, who tapped the ball to a streaking (and offside) Christian Pulisic for him to scuff the ball into the goal. Even when the offside flag went up to condemn that beautiful move to meaninglessness, there was no sense of dread at the missed opportunity. There was just the realization that these guys knew, really knew, that they could score on this team with 10 men.
And then Sergiño Dest turned his man just outside the Bosnia and Herzegovina box, drawing a yellow card and setting up a free kick from about 19 yards away. That's when another unfamiliar thing for USMNT fans happened. Tillman, a player genuinely good enough to step up to a free kick like that with real confidence, stroked the ball up and over the wall to seal the game for the USMNT.
I couldn't believe what I had seen. Not only had the USMNT just scored the type of goal usually reserved for the best squads from Europe and South America, they had done it with the run of play while down a man. Historically, even the USMNT's best World Cup performances could charitably described as "cagey" or "gritty," and so it never occurred to me that I might one day watch this team glide into a victory with 10 men on the field. Tillman's goal will deservedly be the highlight everyone remembers from this game for years to come, but I will also hold onto the bursts of confidence that occurred around it. I'll remember Tillman's backheel, Dest's turn, the one-touch passing sequences the USMNT carried through the midfield, and all the times a USMNT player confidently dribbled himself through a tight corridor in order to draw a foul and relieve pressure. I will remember how much fun this team was having while they were supposed to be miserable.
I still don't really know how good this team is. They've yet to play a real powerhouse, and it's hard to say how much fragility was revealed by Turkiye's thrashing of the B Team in a meaningless game. What I can say is that the USMNT has comprehensively solved every problem that opponents have put in front of them so far at this World Cup, and that they've played some of the tournament's most self-assured soccer. The Wondolowski miss has never felt so far behind us. Speaking of which, the USMNT will now play Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday. They will be without Balogun thanks to his red-card suspension, and they will be facing much stiffer competition than Bosnia and Herzegovina. And yet, I couldn't be less worried. If these guys believe in themselves enough to produce a performance like they did last night, why shouldn't I?
