Folarin Balogun experienced one of the most dramatic nights of his career as the United States secured their spot in the Round of 16 at the World Cup, with the forward joining an elite list of players who have both scored and been sent off in the same World Cup match.

The 24-year-old, who had already struck twice against Paraguay earlier in the tournament, opened the scoring for the hosts against Bosnia and Herzegovina just before half-time. However, his fortunes changed sharply in the 64th minute when a VAR review deemed his challenge on Tarik Muharemovic dangerous, resulting in a straight red card.

This rare combination of finding the net and being dismissed has occurred only a few times throughout World Cup history.

One of the most memorable instances came during the 2006 final, when Zinedine Zidane, in his final international appearance, scored a Panenka penalty against Italy before being shown a red card in extra time for headbutting Marco Materazzi.

The last occurrence before Balogun’s came at the 2022 World Cup, when Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar netted a dramatic stoppage-time winner against Brazil, only to receive a second yellow card for taking off his shirt in celebration.

Brazilian legend Ronaldinho also appears on this exclusive list, having scored a stunning free-kick against England in the 2002 quarter-finals before being sent off for a reckless challenge on David Beckham.

This select group is rounded out by Garrincha (1962), South Korea’s Ha Seok-ju (1998), and Senegal’s Salif Diao (2002). Balogun’s name now joins this distinctive record in the archives of World Cup history.