Folarin Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup before being sent off in the second half, while Malik Tillman added a late free-kick goal as a 10-man United States defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 on Wednesday night to book a place in the World Cup round of 16.
Balogun put the Americans ahead in the 45th minute after an impressive first-half display but received a red card in the 64th minute following a foul on Tarik Muharemovic, forcing the United States to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Tillman sealed the victory in the 82nd minute, curling a free kick from just outside the penalty area past goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj after the ball deflected off the keeper's hand.
"We had to dig deep for that one," U.S. star Christian Pulisic said. "It didn't go exactly to plan with the red card, but that just shows what a good team we are. We said in the hydration break, you know, this is what it takes to be a really strong team. And, we were able to do it."
The Americans secured only their second knockout-stage victory in World Cup history. They reached the semifinals in the inaugural tournament in 1930 after winning their group and claimed their only previous knockout win by beating Mexico in the round of 16 in 2002.
The victory sets up a round-of-16 clash with Belgium on Monday in Seattle as the United States looks to make a deep run on home soil. Belgium defeated the Americans 2-1 after extra time in the 2014 World Cup round of 16.
"So proud of all my players," U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said.
Tillman revealed he changed his right boot just before taking the decisive free kick because of a bloody sock around his big toe.
"You never know when it's going to happen. Today, it happened," he said.
The match was played less than 20 miles from Stanford Stadium, where the United States lost 1-0 to heavily favoured Brazil in its first modern-era World Cup knockout match in 1994.
This time, the Americans entered a World Cup knockout match as favourites for the first time and rewarded the large crowd of U.S. supporters at Levi's Stadium, who chanted "U-S-A! U-S-A!" during the closing minutes.
The win also ended a 10-match winless run against European opponents at the World Cup dating back to a draw with England in 2022. It was the United States' first World Cup victory over a European side since defeating Portugal in the opening match of the 2002 tournament.
Bosnia-Herzegovina created the better early opportunities, with U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese making two important saves to deny Ermedin Demirovic after a deceptive goal kick caught the American defence off guard. He also prevented Kerim Alajbegovic from scoring directly from the resulting corner.
Balogun then took control of the match. He had one goal ruled out for offside, appealed for penalties on two occasions after being brought down in the box, and finally broke the deadlock in the 45th minute.
Tim Ream intercepted a Bosnia goal kick at midfield before Tillman found Balogun inside the penalty area. The striker slid a left-footed shot into the net for his third goal of the tournament, leaving him one short of the U.S. men's single-World Cup record of four goals, set by Bert Patenaude in 1930.
Balogun celebrated with his version of the LeBron James "Silencer" celebration, drawing praise from the NBA star himself.
He nearly doubled his tally in first-half stoppage time, but his close-range effort struck the crossbar and bounced away.
Bosnia-Herzegovina's second World Cup appearance was still considered a success. The team drew with Canada in its opening match and defeated Qatar to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in its history.