For just the second time in their history, the United States has won a knockout round game in the FIFA World Cup. But after seeing the team play down a man for the final half hour of the game, USMNT legend Landon Donovan had an all-time quote about the effort.
Following the USMNT's 2-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina, Donovan applauded the team he once starred for as well as the fans for their support on the FOX postgame show. He then made a cute joke about his "fake hair" that people have been making fun of him over since the World Cup started.
"Nobody sat down! (The crowd) was standing. And the other thing is, I was so stressed the last 15 minutes, even my fake hair was falling out. So no more of that please," Donovan joked.
The rest of the panel was speechless by Donovan's hair admission.
A Bittersweet Victory
The USMNT handled their business against Bosnia & Herzegovina as most people expected they would. Star forward Folarin Balogun added a third goal to his tournament total in the 45th minute, slipping a mishandled ball by a defender past the goalkeeper for a goal.
Unfortunately, things got highly contentious in the second half when Balogun accidentally stepped on the calf of an opposing player. A VAR review ensued and the referee issued Balogun a red card, causing the US to go down to 10 men for the rest of the match and forcing him to miss their next game.
© Carlos Barria-Reuters via Imagn Images
Miraculously, the USMNT still kept The Dragons out of their net for the remaining half hour that they were down a man, and even doubled their total with a dazzling free kick goal from Malik Tillman.
They ended the game with a 2-0 victory, eliminating Bosnia & Herzegovina, and now head to the Round of 16 in Seattle where they'll take on another European team: Belgium.
Sadly, the absence of Balogun will leave the USMNT without their leading scorer and top performer of the World Cup. If they hope to make history by winning a second knockout round game in a row, someone is going to have to step up like never before.
