USMNT Reaches Round Of 16 Behind Balogun And Tillman

United States 2, Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 was the clean result line from Levi's Stadium. The route there was messier. ESPN's World Cup summary credited Folarin Balogun with his third goal of the tournament before a red card, then Malik Tillman with the free kick that pushed a ten player U.S. side into the round of 16.

That is the story from Wednesday night: the Americans advanced through a match that had less comfort than the final score suggests. ESPN's box score had Bosnia and Herzegovina with 51.6 percent possession, 10 shots and 3 on target. The United States had 48.4 percent possession, 8 shots and 2 on target. Two shots on target became two goals. In knockout soccer, that is ruthless enough.

World Cup board

The bracket around the U.S. result was alive all day. England beat Congo DR 2, 1 in Atlanta after trailing at halftime, with ESPN's match story crediting Harry Kane's brace for the rescue. Belgium beat Senegal 3, 2 after extra time at Lumen Field, and ESPN's related U.S. coverage framed Belgium as the next American problem. The cleanest read is that the U.S. got through while spending a key attacker. That matters more than the possession split.

The three World Cup finals carried real separation in style. England had 59.7 percent possession and 16 shots against Congo DR, according to the ESPN summary. Belgium had 52.3 percent possession and 15 shots against Senegal, then needed extra time. The U.S. had the leanest statistical profile of the winners and still produced the shutout. That is why the American result sits first this morning.

Baseball got ridiculous

Chicago Cubs 23, San Diego Padres 3 was the baseball number of the night. ESPN's recap had Dansby Swanson with three home runs and eight RBI, including a grand slam, Michael Conforto with two homers, and the Cubs with eight home runs. The inning log was ugly for San Diego: Chicago scored 3 in the first, 5 in the third, 4 in the fifth and 8 in the eighth. Padres starter Walker Buehler allowed 9 runs in 4 innings and 3 home runs.

The rest of the MLB board had 14 finals and plenty of clean separation. Washington beat Boston 10, 2. Toronto beat the Mets 9, 3. Atlanta beat St. Louis 5, 1. Tampa Bay shut out Kansas City 4, 0. Minnesota beat Houston 8, 3. Colorado beat Miami 6, 3. San Francisco beat Arizona 6, 4. The Athletics result was the late clean upset: Athletics 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 1, with Shea Langeliers hitting his twentieth homer and the Athletics stopping a four game losing streak, per the ESPN recap.

Milwaukee Brewers 4, Cincinnati Reds 2 had Garrett Mitchell tripling in the seventh and finishing with four hits. That one matters because the ESPN recap described Milwaukee as the NL Central leader. Between the Cubs avalanche, the Athletics beating the Dodgers, and the Brewers adding another division win, MLB gave the morning a box score spine under the World Cup lead.

Morning headlines

The NBA feed moved around the Boston Philadelphia trade story: Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia, Paul George and picks to Boston. Dallas also added Santi Aldama from Memphis for AJ Johnson and draft capital, according to the ESPN NBA news feed. The WNBA scoreboard had zero games after Tuesday's Commissioner's Cup night, so its morning feed was headline driven.

The NHL feed was a free agency board: Tampa Bay signed John Carlson to a two year deal, Edmonton agreed with Frederik Andersen on a one year deal, and New Jersey submitted a 4.78 million dollar offer sheet for Barrett Hayton. The NFL feed was quieter from a games standpoint, with Denver's defense searching for more turnovers as the top football item.

The takeaway from July 1 is simple. U.S. soccer owns the morning because the national team reached the round of 16 through red card chaos and efficient finishing. Baseball supplied the absurd line with Chicago's 23 run afternoon. NBA and NHL coverage belonged to transaction feeds while the World Cup took the top shelf.