Balogun emulates Zidane and Ronaldinho's World Cup feat

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United States striker, Folarin Balogun, matched a World Cup record held by Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho after scoring and being sent off in the same knockout match during his side’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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The forward of Nigerian descent’s third goal of the tournament fired the United States into the round of 16 and moved him into second place on the list of the most goals scored by an American player at a single World Cup.

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However, his landmark night ended in frustration when he was shown a red card in the 64th minute, ruling him out of next week’s last-16 meeting with Belgium in Seattle.

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By scoring and receiving a red card in the same World Cup knockout fixture, Balogun became only the fourth player in the tournament’s history to achieve the feat, joining an exclusive list that includes Garrincha (1962), Ronaldinho (2002) and Zidane (2006).

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Despite being reduced to ten men, Mauricio Pochettino’s side held on to seal the win through Malik Tillman’s free-kick, with the midfielder becoming only the second American player after Eric Wynalda (1994) to score directly from a free-kick at a World Cup.

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Balogun’s suspension leaves the United States without their leading scorer for the last-16 clash, though his team-mates have expressed confidence in the squad’s depth to cope with his absence.

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Crystal Palace defender, Chris Richards, reacted to Balogun’s unwanted piece of history, saying the squad had already rallied round their team-mate.

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“Pretty cool record, huh? We told him that we’ve got his back now. We’ve known we’re a team of 26, not just one. So, ultimately, we’re going to miss him for the next game, but we know that if it’s (Ricardo) Pepi or Haji (Wright), whoever the case, is going to step up next and that they’re going to do their job just as well as he did,” Richards said.

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Pochettino must now find a replacement to lead the American attack against Belgium, with Pepi and Wright among the options being considered as the United States chase a place in the quarter-finals.

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