An early scare nearly cost the United States in their 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 at the World Cup on Wednesday night.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men beat the Bosnians in a tense match courtesy of goals from Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman. They played the last 26 minutes with ten men after Balogun’s controversial sending-off.

Bosnia almost took a shock early lead just minutes into the game when the USA defence either forgot or were unaware of a rule. They avoided conceding after American goalkeeper Matt Freese denied Ermedin Demirovic.

Goal-Kick Rule Nearly Cost USA vs Bosnia

Phil Noble via Action Images via Reuters

That move came from Nikola Vasilj’s goal kick, which he pumped upfield to find former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko. Pochettino’s defence had pushed up and allowed the ball to arrive for the Bosnia skipper, perhaps thinking he had been in an offside position.

Dzeko then found Demirovic, whose effort was punched away by Freese. This served as a wake-up call for the Americans, whose lapse in concentration almost led to the European minnows opening the scoring.

USA eventually booked their place in the Round of 16 with a clash against Belgium on Tuesday (July 7th). For Dzeko and Bosnia, they will rue not making the most of the early opportunity, which was just one of four shots they managed on target throughout the game.

Some fans will have been quick to find out why Dzeko hadn’t been ruled offside. That’s because the rules state that “no one can be offside directly from a goal kick, throw-in or corner.”

‘I’m Shook’ – Fans Stunned by Rule

Reuters/Steven Bisig

The early chance for the Bosnians courtesy of a goal-kick appeared to shock many viewers of last night’s game. Some have only just learned about the rule that has led to some iconic goals.

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson had a habit of picking his man out with a goal kick to hit the opposition on the counter. It’s a clever tactic which can often throw the defending team off.

One fan wrote on X after seeing Bosnia try to use it to their advantage: “I was today year old when I knew that you cannot be called offside from a goal kick.”

Another supporter added: “Ain’t no way this is a rule?”

One was equally as shocked: “I have been watching soccer all my life and I did not know this rule.”

Another wrote: “Not gonna lie, it’s something I’ve never seen in my whole life until this point. I’m shook.”

One replied: “You can randomly wake up, and a new football rule just spun out of nowhere.”

This is not a new football rule and has, in fact, been in effect since 1866, when the FA began drafting the official laws of the game. It’s a major reason managers like sweeper keepers who are good with their feet and can find attackers with pinpoint accuracy.

Lamine Yamal is one of the stars to watch at the World Cup and he has caught the eye ever since he burst onto the scene at Barcelona and quickly became one of the best players in the world.

The forward is just 18 years old, but is already outplaying some of football’s most established stars for both club and country. Whether it’s with Barca or Spain, he more often than not dominates, further demonstrating why he is one of the best players on the planet.

He was influential in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, and if it wasn’t for him, it’s hard to imagine the Catalan giants would be enjoying a successful era under Hansi Flick. His exploits for his national team have already made him a hero in Spain.

As brilliant as the winger has been, eagle-eyed fans have spotted that it’s not just Spain that he holds a close affinity towards, as the teenager has been spotted sporting boots with two other national flags embroidered on them whenever he represents his country.

Why Yamal Has Two Flags on His Boots

Heiko Becker Via Reuters

Despite Yamal becoming one of Spain’s best attacking talents, it hasn’t stopped him from paying tribute to two other countries he could have represented had he wanted to. As fans have noticed, the star regularly wears boots featuring the flags of Morocco and Equatorial Guinea when he plays international football.

Yamal, born in Catalonia, has parents of Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean descent. His father was born in the North African country, and his mother came from the Central African nation next to Cameroon. As such, the superstar had the opportunity to represent either side at international level, but instead opted to play for his nation of birth.

Despite that, Yamal has not forgotten his roots and is often seen wearing boots displaying both the Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean flags throughout his career. In the past, this was also accompanied by the Spanish flag, but it hasn’t always been the case.

The La Masia academy product hasn’t been quite as prolific during the World Cup as many anticipated. He has registered one goal in four games thus far but has showcased incredible ability whenever on the ball.

There is a chance that Yamal comes up against Morocco in the semi-finals of the World Cup. The two nations are on the same side of the bracket and have been among the strongest teams.

Morocco’s Attempt to Lure Lamine Yamal

The Royal Morrocan Football Federation were especially keen to ensure that the Barcelona man opted to represent them for the rest of his career. In 2023, national team head coach Walid Regragui described the player as being Moroccan but pleaded for calm surrounding the player’s future.

Despite that, Yamal remained steadfast in his decision to represent the three-time European champions. Having already represented the country at under-15 level, the young prodigy made clear his ambitions to move up to the senior squad in an interview with the Spanish national team’s YouTube channel.

Despite that, Moroccan Federation president Fouzi Lekjaa confirmed that a meeting between the two parties had taken place, but to no avail:

Lamine Yamal’s International Career

At just 16-years, one-month and 26 days, Yamal became the youngest ever player to feature for the Spain senior squad in a 7-1 drubbing over Georgia. It was a dream debut for the record-breaker, who also managed to open his goalscoring account less than 30 minutes after being introduced from the bench.

Since then, the teenager has gone on to make 29 senior appearances, scoring seven goals along the way. His impressive form for club and country has seen Yamal become one of Spain’s best current players, and he was pivotal to their European Champions triumph in 2024, when they lifted the trophy for the third time by beating England in the final.

Yamal

Yamal has also played 151 times for Barcelona so far and considering he’s still just 18 years old, the sky is truly the limit for one of the Ballon d’Or favourites. Should he fire La Roja to World Cup glory, he’ll undoubtedly be viewed as one of the all-time greats despite only being in his teenage years.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and accurate as of 02/07/2026

Tottenham’s bold summer spending has cost one of last season’s most important players his place in the team. Spurs are among the biggest spenders in world football this summer, already committing more than £200million to new signings, and the spending will not end there.

Roberto De Zerbi was promised a big budget, and he is getting exactly that, with Spurs quickly signing Andy Robertson, Marcos Sensesi and Jan Paul van Hecke. They have now added to those signings with the deals to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85million and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United for £92million.

It is a huge statement from Tottenham, who have rarely dug deep into their pocket, but back-to-back bottom-half finishes appear to have served as a real wake-up call. Fans will be delighted with the investment, but it is not good news for everyone.

Palhinha set to miss out on Tottenham move

via Reuters

Joao Palhinha was a crucial player for Tottenham last season, arriving on loan and proving to be one of the very few bright lights in an otherwise forgettable campaign. The Portugal international battled admirably even during the more difficult times, but Spurs decided not to take up the £26million option to buy they held in the loan deal, which was seen as a very affordable total due to Bayern Munich previously paying £47.4million to sign the midfielder from Fulham.

But according to Tom Barclay and Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham have now decided to move on from Palhinha, opting not to return to Bayern with a fresh approach following their two statement midfield signings.

Romano posted on X: “João Palhinha will not stay at Spurs this summer despite his desire to continue at the club. The decision has been made after Tonali and Mateus Fernandes signings, as @TomBarclay_reports.”

De Zerbi wanted to keep Palhinha

The strange thing about the Palhinha decision is that De Zerbi stated he wanted to sign the midfielder when speaking towards the end of last season. He said: “100%. We have to start from this type of person. We need reliable people as well as reliable players and Palhinha is one of the best. I want to see players with the same attitude, with the same passion, with the same spirit and personality. We are lucky to have Palhinha with us.”

Ultimately, though, the arrivals of Tonali and Fernandes likely push Palhinha out of the team, and Spurs also have Rodrigo Bentancur in the middle, along with Pape Matar Sarr and Conor Gallagher. Given a free choice, Palhinha might have been kept over one of those players, but given he was only on loan, it is a safer option to not sign the Portugal international and avoid being forced to try to sell one of the existing options.