SANTA CLARA: Ten-man United States moved into the last 16 at the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Bosnia, ending a ‌24-year wait for a knockout-stage win to keep alive hopes of an American dream run in the game’s global showpiece.

In a dramatic high-tempo game in the San Francisco Bay Area, Folarin Balogun scored near halftime then was sent off after the break, with Malik Tillman converting a ​free kick late on to spark euphoria in a partisan arena of red, white and blue.

Victory brought an ​end to a dismal U.S. run of 10 consecutive defeats by European opposition, and set up ⁠a last-16 tie in Seattle with Belgium, who had earlier rallied from two goals down to beat Senegal 3-2 after extra time.

“I ​felt we put on such a good performance and didn’t deserve the red card,” said Christian Pulisic.

“But for us to ​dig in deep like that and just to get another goal and to defend the way we did, it took a real team effort, but we’re proud of that.”

It was a physical encounter in the Golden State where luck was not always on the side of the ​hosts, with Balogun and Pulisic having goals ruled out and Bosnia crowding out their defence to stifle a succession ​of U.S. attacks.

Balogun was always a threat, coming close a few times early on before seizing his chance, slotting home a loose ball ‌to ⁠put the hosts ahead for his third goal of the tournament. He was stunned when he was dismissed after the break for a serious foul on Tarik Muharemovic that appeared accidental.

Playing in their first-ever World Cup knockout round match, Bosnia had barely threatened and looked content defending compactly and hoofing long balls upfield towards Edin Dzeko, who forced a save early on ​from goalkeeper Matt Freese.

In a ​match full of patriotic fervour ⁠that got under way with a flyover by fighter jets, the Americans started with attacking verve and silky one-touch moves, spurred on by the reverberating roars of U-S-A by a ​crowd with high expectations.

The US duly delivered, showing speed, grit and intensity, with talisman Pulisic ​back in the ⁠team and intoxicating the crowd with a few blazing runs for goal.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino was certain Balogun’s foul was not intentional and hailed his team’s ability to battle on. He said: “The team showed the qualities, the capacity to compete, to fight for each other. I am so proud, so proud about the players. They are the ​heroes.”

Bosnia’s coach Sergej Barbarez was disappointed they did not create more chances but praised his players for getting this far in the tournament. He said: “We should hold our heads up high ​and we can really improve and build on this.”

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