SANTA CLARA, CA — The United States Men's National Team begins the 2026 FIFA World Cup's knockout stage against Bosnia and Herzegovina in San Francisco on Wednesday night.
The Round of 32 matchup comes after the USA won Group D during pool play, beating Paraguay (4-1) and Australia (2-0). The Americans fell to Türkiye, 3-2, in their final group play match, but it was little more than an exhibition match for the USA at that point, having already won the group.
Match Details:
- When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 1
- Where: San Francisco Bay Area Stadium (Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers)
- TV: FOX, Telemundo (Spanish)
- Stream: Fox Sports, FOX One, Peacock (Spanish)
The match will be the fourth all-time meeting between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the first in official competition. The U.S. rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win the first meeting 4-3 in Sarajevo in 2013 behind a three-goal, one-assist performance from Jozy Altidore. The teams later played to a scoreless draw in 2018 before the Americans earned a 1-0 victory later that year in Carson, California.
The Americans are the favorites in this matchup. Vegas has the Stars and Stripes as a 0.5-goal favorite in the matchup, but the odds remain close.
- Moneyline: USA -265 | Draw +390 | Bosnia-Herzegovina +800
- Spread: USA (-0.5) -280 | Bosnia-Herzegovina (+0.5) +21
- Total: 2.5 (-125 O, Even U)
Christian Pulisic announced that he is fully cleared by the medical staff and locked into the starting lineup for the match on Wednesday night. Having recovered from a left calf injury, he declared himself ready to go the distance and play a full 90 minutes or more. The USA will need "Captain America" to be in top form tonight to get the knockout stage kicked off in a positive direction. Pulisic makes any offense explosive and he was missed in the game against Australia and the first half against Turkiye.
On Bosnia and Herzegovina's side, look out for Ermin Mahmić. He leads the team with two goals in the tournament. Jovo Lukić and 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegović have also scored during group play, while veteran striker Ermedin Demirović is still searching for his first World Cup goal.
Bosnia and Herzegovina enters the knockout round ranked No. 61 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Rankings after posting a 1-1-1 record during group play. The Dragons opened with a 1-1 draw against co-host Canada, fell 4-1 to group winner Switzerland and clinched a knockout berth with a 3-1 victory over Qatar. The result secured their first-ever appearance in the World Cup knockout stage as one of the tournament's best third-place finishers.
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