41/52nds of the World Cup
The United States have won 2 matches at a World Cup on 2 separate occasions. They have never won 3 matches in a single tournament. Their Round of 32 match-up against the combined forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina was just their latest attempt to achieve the trifecta of victories. To do so, they would need to win in 90 minutes. While Bosnia and Herzegovina would have their chances, it was the United States that would find goal first through Folarin Balogun's goal in the 45th minute. They would carry that lead into the 2nd half where the tide became shaky. In the 64th minute, the hero of the match thus far would step onto Tarik Muharemovic's leg and slide down to step on his ankle in what looked like a horrific injury. VAR would intervene to confirm that Folarin Balogun would receive a red card. One nation less by name, and 1 man down by sending off, left the US's 1 goal lead in a precarious position. That is until Malik Tillman would step up and hit a wonderful free kick that beat goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj for a 2nd US goal. Even with 10 minutes of stoppage time, the co-hosts would hold on to face Belgium in the Round of 16. For Bosnia and Herzegovina, it has been a wild journey. It took a penalty kick shootout to qualify at the expense of Italy. To have made it out of the group and given the US a challenging match will have to be their consolation.
We witnessed our 5th lead change of the tournament as a previous number 1 has reclaimed the top spot. She picked England, Belgium, and the United State to advance to the Round of 16, and was the only player to predict the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet in the Round of 32. With 107 points on the day, all hail Praeceptor.
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