Malik Tillman delivered an assist in his FIFA World Cup debut against Paraguay and followed that up in his first knockout stage appearance on Wednesday.
Tillman continued his stellar run with the U.S. Men’s National Team by scoring his first-career World Cup goal in Wednesday’s 2-0 Round of 32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina. The 24-year-old midfielder iced the Americans result with a sublime free kick, helping Mauricio Pochettino’s squad get over the line with 10-men.
Entering the match with three senior USMNT goals to his name, Tillman delivered his best yet at a vital time in the tournament, admitting it was continued practice that led to his clinical execution in the moment.
“We had been going through all the ways you can possibly take this free kick,” Tillman said postmatch to reporters. “We talked about going to the side, we talked about it going over the wall, and I know some guys say the story all over the world, but I practiced this in training and I’m happy it went through.
“If you talk to me, even yesterday I would say no [about dreaming about scoring on a free kick at the World Cup], but now I’ve been dreaming about this game, I’ve been dreaming about maybe taking a free kick and scoring a free kick,” Tillman added.
The USMNT took a 1-0 lead into halftime thanks to Folarin Balogun’s third goal of the competition, but eventually lost their star striker to a red card after the hour mark. Growing pressure from Bosnia-Herzegovina forced the Americans to try and grab an insurance goal and they did just that through Tillman’s sensational strike.
Tillman credited the USMNT’s work ethic and togetherness to hang on for the result, even while playing down to 10-men for the final 25+ minutes.
“[We had] the right heart to keep going, keep fighting, and I think this game today showed our character,” Tillman said. “We will always keep on fighting, keep on doing everything, and even though the game went to the end, we showed our character to get the job done.”
Belgium now awaits the USMNT in Seattle on July 6, with history not on the Americans side in past head-to-head meetings. The USMNT are 1-6-0 in seven all-time meetings with the Belgians, which most recently featured a 5-2 drubbing against Rudi Garcia’s men in Atlanta last March.
Earning a first knockout stage win since 2002 though will surely give the USMNT a confidence boost, something that Tillman thinks could prove crucial against another tough opponent in Belgium.
“It’s going to be a tough game, but I think this game today can give us a lot of confidence,” Tillman said. “We just need to keep going the same way that we have done so far and of course it’s going to be a tough opponent, but I think we are ready for it and ready to compete.”
Larry Henry Jr
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