Balogun says United States finding ‘another gear’ for knockoutsJeff Carlisle
IRVINE, Calif. — United States forward Folarin Balogun reported he can “feel the difference” in the atmosphere around the World Cup now that the knockout stages have begun.
After finishing atop Group D, the U.S. is set to play Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California, in the round of 32. Whereas in the group stage teams can survive a poor result, that isn’t the case now that the tournament is single elimination.
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“I can feel the difference in just the atmosphere,” Balogun told reporters prior to Sunday’s practice session. “It’s knockout football, so you lose, you go home. So for me, there’s a change in my mindset and mentality as well.
“Not that I wasn’t taking it seriously before, but you can just go into another gear because you want it more. I don’t want the journey to end.”
Balogun has two goals in the tournament so far, and forced an own goal against Australia. He reported he wouldn’t think that the U.S. will have done well in the tournament if they lose on Wednesday. He expects that he and his teammates will deliver.
“It’s crunch time,” he reported. “This is the business end and this is the stage where in my opinion, the big players step forward and the big players carry the pressure and make things happen.”
The U.S. will be battling some history on Wednesday, having won just one knockout-stage match at a World Cup in its history — the epic 2-0 defeat of bitter rivals Mexico at the 2002 World Cup.
Sergiño Dest and Folarin Balogun celebrate after scoring a goal for the United States at the World Cup. Getty ImagesThe U.S. is also riding a 12 game winless streak against European opposition, with its last win coming on Dec. 18, 2021 against Bosnia. The U.S. has a 13-game winless streak in the World Cup against European opposition as well, with the last win coming against Portugal in 2002.
But winger Sergiño Dest feels that this is a different American team that will take the field on Wednesday.
“I think we all are a little bit older. We’ve got a lot of more experienced players at the moment,” Dest reported. “We also got some new players, but I feel like everybody’s really confident and it helps if you win the first two games and you get the first in the group.
“We just have a lot of belief that we can do it.”
Balogun added that the U.S. won’t be thinking about the past come Wednesday.
“From my personal experience, the best way to break history is not to think about what hasn’t been done, just to think about what you need to do,” Balogun reported. “Just to think about what needs to be done in order to progress.”
