Balogun channels his inner LeBron - who then crowns him 'Young King'

[p]Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup to give ‌the U.S. a first-half lead in their 2-0 round-of-32 win over Bosnia ‌on Wednesday, continuing his breakout tournament on home soil.[/p][p]The forward marked the goal by ‌mimicking James' famous "[i]Silencer[/i]" celebration, lifting his knees and pounding his chest ‌before repeatedly pushing both arms downward in front of a raucous Santa Clara crowd.[/p][p]James noticed.[/p][p]"[b]Helluva goal there Young King![/b]" the NBA great wrote on social media during the match, giving ‌Balogun's moment an extra jolt of star power.[/p][embed guid="e3fedfde-20f6-46e7-b146-186a0f497c97" url="https://x.com/KingJames/status/2072483243786481929" social-type="twitter" /][p]But ⁠Balogun's night took a sharp turn ‌after the break when he was shown a red card for planting his boot into ​the ankle of Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic, leaving the U.S. to navigate the remainder of the knockout tie a man down.[/p][p]The contact ​by Balogun appeared inadvertent and he was not shown a red or even a yellow initially, but was sent off after a Video Assistant Referee ⁠review.[/p][p]For a few anxious moments, ​the red card threatened to overwhelm everything Balogun had done well.[/p][p]It also stirred uncomfortable memories for U.S. fans of Tim Weah's sending-off against Panama at the 2024 Copa America, when the Americans unraveled and crashed out in the group ‌stage on home soil.[/p][embed guid="f637a57d-a748-4c63-b309-e16845f8a54d" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmsP6FyeBFw" social-type="youtube" /][p]This time, Balogun's teammates made sure the story did not end the same way.[/p][p]Rather than fold, Mauricio Pochettino's side stayed compact and composed, defending with discipline while still posing a threat going forward. Malik Tillman eventually doubled the lead with a free kick, allowing the U.S. to close out victory despite Balogun's dismissal.[/p][p]"[b]We had to dig deep for that one[/b]," Christian Pulisic said.[/p][p]"[b]Obviously, I felt we put on such a good performance and didn't deserve the red card. I mean, I didn't see it, but ‌it's unfortunate. But for us to dig in deep, get another goal and ​defend the way we did, it took a real team effort, ‌but we're proud of that.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="327c8f26-0a6e-4534-a501-8d2862da4e3f" url="https://x.com/NBAHistory/status/1624817042808537088/video/1" social-type="twitter" /][p]For Balogun, the night was a contradiction: another good finish that reinforced his value as the U.S. attack's focal point, followed by a costly lapse that will leave him watching from the stands when the Americans face Belgium in the last 16.[/p][p]The U.S. survived ⁠without him on Wednesday. In Seattle ⁠on Monday, they will have ‌to prove they can do it again from the start.[/p]