Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. If the USMNT game wasn’t so interesting, I would have had space in here to try to make sense of the Jaylen Brown-Paul George trade. (Also, just a quick note that there won’t be an SI:AM tomorrow. Happy Fourth!)In today’s SI:AM: 🇺🇸 U.S. moves on to last 16 ☘️ Celtics dump Brown in stunner ⚾ Schwarber’s derby decisionIf you’re reading this on SI.com, click here to subscribe and receive SI:AM directly in your inbox each morning.Good news, bad newsThe U.S. men’s national team has won a World Cup knockout stage match for the first time in 24 years, but it isn’t all good news. The U.S. earned a 2–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday night to set up a round of 16 meeting with Belgium in Seattle on Monday. But the U.S. will be without its red-hot striker Folarin Balogun on Monday after he was shown a controversial red card in the win. Balogun was sent off in the 64th minute after a hard challenge on Tarik Muharemović. Balogun stepped on the back of the defender’s leg as they battled for the ball, and Muharemović needed medical attention. Balogun was not cautioned for the play on the field, but the video assistant referee called for a review of the incident. After viewing the replay, Balogun was shown a straight red card by referee Raphael Claus of Brazil. The decision was widely criticized for being excessively harsh. Balogun did not intentionally step on Muharemović, nor did he stomp forcefully on his leg. He was simply trying to regain his footing as the two players jostled for position. (You can watch the play here and decide for yourself whether it was worthy of a red.) It was certainly a foul. It was probably deserving of a yellow card. But a straight red was too severe a punishment. Balogun’s foul looked more violent in slo-mo, though—and especially so if you freeze the video at the moment where he’s stepping on Muharemović’s twisted ankle. But the referee should not have based his judgment on the slow-motion replay. IFAB, the organization in charge of the rules of global soccer, says that full-speed replays should be used in reviews that seek to determine the “intensity” of an offense. In this case, the referee saw slo-mo replays that made Balogun’s foul look more severe than it was. Wednesday night’s game can be divided into two wildly different segments—before and after Balogun was sent off—and the U.S. was extraordinarily impressive in both. While playing with the full 11 men, the U.S. dominated the game, maintaining possession and creating plenty of quality chances before Balogun scored the first U.S. goal in the 45th minute with a slick finish that required impressive concentration. (Balogun became the first player to have a goal and a red card in a World Cup knockout stage match since Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt in the 2006 final.)In the first hour of the game, the U.S. played the same aggressive, skillful, creative style that it had in the group stage. At previous World Cups, it felt like the U.S. was playing an inferior slog of a game called “soccer,” as opposed to the beautiful “football” of the world’s top teams. This year, that’s changed. The U.S. is finally playing cohesive, productive offense. The U.S had to play ugly, too, though. Balogun’s red card completely changed the shape of the game. The U.S. was suddenly on the back foot, as Bosnia and Herzegovina began to dominate possession and push for a tying goal. But the U.S. dug in and refused to relent. It defended well, even with the disadvantage in numbers, and smartly chose when to push the ball into the offensive end. Malik Tillman added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute with a beautiful free kick, allowing the Americans to breathe a little easier. Malik Tillman’s free-kick goal provided some insurance for an anxious 10-man U.S. side. | Kohjiro Kinno/Sports IllustratedWhich version of the team will show up on Monday against Belgium? Balogun’s red card not only disqualified him from the final half hour of last night’s game but also came with an automatic one-game suspension. (FIFA can levy additional sanctions after a red, as it did with the five-game suspension handed to Qatar’s Assim Madibo after his challenge that broke the leg of Canada’s Ismaël Koné, but that seems unlikely in this particular instance.) Balogun has been critical to the U.S.’s offense throughout this tournament. He leads the team with three goals (second most in a World Cup by any American man) and also created a chance against Australia that resulted in an Australian own goal. It will be difficult to maintain the offensive momentum without him. U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino will likely replace Balogun in the starting lineup with Ricardo Pepi, who started up front in the final group stage match against Türkiye when nearly all the usual starters got the night off. Pepi also started against Australia, when Pochettino went with a two-striker look due to Christian Pulisic’s injury. Haji Wright, who came off the bench for the final minute of the Australia match, is another option. Balogun’s absence will be difficult to overcome, but the U.S. can take some solace in the fact that it’s facing a Belgium team that has been less than impressive. Belgium advanced to the round of 16 with a comeback win over Senegal earlier on Wednesday in which the Belgians were thoroughly outplayed for the first 85 minutes. They tied the game with two goals in a span of three minutes to force extra time, then won when they were controversially awarded a penalty in the 125th minute. Belgium’s lone regulation win at this tournament came against New Zealand, the lowest-ranked team in the field. This Belgian team doesn’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of its opponents, but a World Cup knockout match is always nervewracking. And Balogun’s absence will make U.S. fans especially anxious. The best of Sports IllustratedPaul George and Jaylen Brown are swapping sides in a stunning NBA blockbuster. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThe top five…… things I saw yesterday: 5. Dansby Swanson’s grand slam for his third homer of the game. Sure, it came off a position player, but it was his fifth homer in a span of 24 hours after he hit two on Tuesday. He has nine homers in his last 13 games, during which time the Cubs are 11–2. 4. All the English fans in Atlanta for their team’s World Cup match doing soccer-style chants for Braves outfielder Michael Harris II. 3. Harry Kane’s impressive go-ahead goal for England against DR Congo. 2. Ismaïla Sarr’s goal to put Senegal up 2–0 on Belgium. Here’s another look at the incredible long-range pass from Moussa Niakhaté and Sarr’s soft touch to bring the ball down with his chest. 1. Malik Tillman’s free-kick goal to stretch the United States’ lead over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here’s what Tillman’s right foot (the one he used to score the goal) looked like after the match. He had gotten stepped on just before the free kick and his foot was bleeding through his sock.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow