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Who: USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Content: 2026 FIFA World Cup – Round 32
Location: San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, USA
Date and time: Wednesday, July 1, 5pm (Thursday 00:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 21:00 GMT before the live text commentary stream.
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“I’m from Bosnia. Please take me to America.”
On Wednesday, the opening lines of Bosnian band Dubiosa Kollektiv’s current classic “USA” will be more than just a catchy chorus.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have reached the World Cup finals for the first time, will look to extend their North American dream by taking on co-hosts the United States in the Round of 32.
Having earned their ticket to the tournament after a grueling play-off, the Bosnian team will carry home the hopes of millions of people who have waited 12 years to see their country on the sport’s biggest stage.
The USA are the clear favorites to win this match, but there are high expectations and pressure on the co-hosts to perform in front of their home crowd. Bosnia knows an upset will be difficult but not impossible, and they are strengthened by the knowledge that another underdog nation has already defeated the favorites in this round.
Al Jazeera tells you all about USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina:
How did America and Bosnia make it to the final 32?
The USA won Group D with six points. Here is the resulting list:
In Group B, Bosnia and Herzegovina finished in 3rd place with 4 points. Here is the resulting list:
US wary of unpredictable Bosnia and Herzegovina
While the United States won its group and advanced to the final tournament, Bosnia finished as one of the top eight third-place teams. Bosnia’s breakthrough was historic, but their performance, especially defensively, was unconvincing. Bosnia have never kept a clean sheet in their six World Cup matches. No team has ever played more in the finals.
However, Bosnia’s strength lies in their physicality, with coach Sergei Barbares’ team being the tallest in the tournament, with an average height of 1.85 meters. He showed his presence to the fullest, scoring three goals from corner kicks.
Despite Bosnia’s underdog status, U.S. captain Tim Ream said the team is wary of the Balkan talent, especially after defeating four-time world champion Italy in qualifying.
“They’re a tough team to play against, but they’re in the tournament for a reason,” Ream told reporters on Monday. “I don’t know if we really expect Bosnia to just be defensive. We have to expect the unexpected,” he said.
Ermin Mafmic is Bosnia’s top scorer at this tournament with two goals off the bench, but American-born winger Esmir Vajraktarevic is also a player to keep an eye on.
The Bosnian squad is captained by 40-year-old striker Edin Dzeko, widely regarded as the country’s best-ever player, and physical forward Ermedin Demirovic provides a goal threat up front. Goalkeeper Nikola Vasili was also a key figure for Bosnia, playing a key role in the qualification and penalty shootouts.
The United States will aim to score first in their fourth straight World Cup game and hope to thrill the home crowd with an attack led by Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun. If they win against Bosnia, it will be the United States’ second win in the World Cup finals, the first being a 2-0 victory over Mexico in 2002.
Prediction for USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Opta’s supercomputer calculated that the U.S. had a 67.5 percent chance of winning the game and a 76.6 percent chance of advancing somehow.
Across the supercomputer’s predictions, the second most likely outcome was a draw at 18.3 percent, followed by a Bosnian victory, which occurred in 14.3 percent of simulations.
USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Kickoff time, TV channels
US: FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (8pm EDT) Bosnia and Herzegovina: Arena Sport (2am CET, Thursday) UK: BBC One, BBC iPlayer (1am BST, Thursday)
To see the TV listings for your country, visit the FIFA TV listings schedule here.
Who will the winner face in the round of 16?
The winner of the match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina will face either Belgium or Senegal in the round of 16.
USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Head-to-head
Wednesday’s game will be the fourth time the USA and Bosnia have met, with the Stars and Stripes remaining undefeated in friendlies from 2013 to 2021 in the first three games (W2 D1).
The U.S. has won just one of the past 21 times it has faced European teams at the FIFA World Cup (D7 L13) and has not won the last 13 (D6 L7) since a 3-2 win over Portugal in 2002.
USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Team News
Star midfielder Christian Pulisic has recovered from a calf injury and could start for the United States, but third-choice goalkeeper Cristian Roldan is doubtful with a muscular injury.
No injuries were reported at the Bosnian camp.
Expected USA lineup
(4-2-3-1): Freeze (goalkeeper). Freeman, Richards, Ream, Robinson. Adams, Tillman. Dest, McKenzie, Pulisic. Balogun
Possible members of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(4-4-2): Vasili (goalkeeper). Dedic, Katic, Muharemovic, Kolasinac. Bajraktarevic, Basic, Sunjic, Alajbegovic. Demirovic, Dzeko
