When it comes to one-and-done tournaments there are only three words that ultimately matter. Survive And Advance.
Whatever happened before in any competition leading up to this point is irrelevant. Regular season records mean nothing except to gamblers. Preliminary round results in something like the World Cup no longer dominate the remaining agate type aggregations of the few print sports sections that remain anywhere. It’s all about the match in front you. Ninety minutes–or occasionally a few more–to determine the fate of a nation.
And thanks to the expanded knockout round that has doubled the size of the field that is faced with that challenge, this year’s North American World Cup has been teed up for doses of such tension and excitement to a level never seen in its 96 year history, already setting multiple viewership records for FOX, Telemundo and I suspect a whole buncha international rights holders. What transpired yesterday between lunch time in Hotlanta (well, there was a dome, thank goodness) and dinner time in the Bay Area will undoubtedly go a long way to assuring those numbers continue to grow–not to mention the legends of those who contributed to it.
Most of our attention here was tuned to what is normally the home of the San Francisco 49ers where the US of A demonstrated the kind of grit and courage that our founding fathers REALLY demonstrated two and a half centuries ago as THE SPORTING TRIBUNE’s Zach Cavanaggh gushed:
Folarin Balogun scored his team-leading third goal for the United States at this World Cup for an early lead in the Round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but a second-half video-review red card forced the Americans down to 10 men for the final 26 minutes.
With the U.S. shorthanded, Malik Tillman put this game to bed with a laser free kick goal in the 81st minute, and the United States men’s national team advanced in the World Cup knockout stage for just the second time in program history with a 2-0 win over Bosnia,
The United States won only its second World Cup knockout game in men’s history and its first since 2002’s famous “Dos a Cero” win over Mexico in the Round of 16. The Americans also snapped a 12-game winless streak against European competition with their first win over a UEFA side since October 2021, which was also against Bosnia-Herzegovina. This is the first time the USMNT has ever won three games in a single World Cup.
The win secures a date in Seattle against a squad that provided its own degree of drama–in both extra and stoppage time no less–to the stunned onlookers that served as the collective 12th men in the home of the Seahawks just before this. USA TODAY’s Jesse Yomtov had the details:
Belgium completed its stunning comeback with a penalty in the 125th minute against Senegal for a 3-2 win in the World Cup round of 32 clash in extra time in Seattle.
Youri Tielemans buried the penalty kick to win the game for Belgium after VAR awarded the foul, his second goal of the game having already equalized at the end of regular time. Belgium, the third-place finisher in 2018, started to press higher after falling behind 2-0 and took off stars Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne. Minutes from elimination, Romelo Lukaku scored in the 86th and Tielemans followed shortly after to equalize.
It’s indeed a daunting task ahead for the U.S. despite what will hopefully be a distinct home crowd advantage. We were reminded of that by a whole bunch of groypers–er, gripers–who gave THE COMEBACK’s Dave Kelsey a lotta fodder:
While the officials may have determined that it a foul worthy of a red card, that was certainly not a common opinion from anyone else as the call quickly sparked outrage.
“Man, somebody help me. That foul looked incidental from Balogun, shouldn’t a Red Card be given if there is either intention to foul, or an action that is aggressive and unsafe in nature? Didn’t feel like Balogun was out of control or anything, just looked like it kind of happened,” Jason Kelce wrote in a post on X.
“Red card for that means you’ve lost the plot. Completely lost the plot,” former American soccer star and current soccer analyst Taylor Twellman wrote in a post on X.
Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera.
If they’re really seeking a reason for hope look no further than the chaps said founding fathers were able to best said two and a half centuries ago. REUTERS’ Mark Gleeson was able to bring this news back to his giddy readers across the pond:
Harry Kane scored twice in the final 15 minutes to see England through to the World Cup round of 16 as they left it late to fight back and overcome a dogged Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1 on Wednesday.