The United States men's national soccer team will meet Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, July 1, at 8 p.m. ET at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California [1, 2].
US captain Tim Ream spoke on June 29 and June 30, saying he does not feel too much pressure heading into the knockout round. "Would it be weird if I told you I don't really feel too much pressure at this minute?" Ream said, explaining the team applies its own expectations. "I just think there's so much pressure that we put on ourselves and it feels very different this time around than 2022...I think we felt more pressure for that first game against Paraguay than anything and that's coming from ourselves, not from anything on the outside" [3, 4].
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino is expected to have most of his squad available, though a few players have minor health issues. Midfielder Gio Reyna, who recently logged his longest game time since December 2024, is expected to play. Reyna said, "With knockout rounds, anything can happen. This team really does well with challenges" [3, 4].
Projected US starters include goalkeeper Matt Freese, defenders Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Alex Freeman, and Antonee Robinson, midfielders Malik Tillman, Tyler Adams, and Weston McKennie, and forwards Sergiño Dest, Ricardo Pepi, and Folarin Balogun [1]. Bosnia and Herzegovina's likely lineup features goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, defenders Sead Kolasinac, Tarik Muharemovic, Nikola Katic, Arjan Malic, midfielders Karim Alajbegovic, Ivan Basic, Ivan Sunic, Esmir Bajrakterevic, and forwards Edin Dzeko and Ermedin Demirovic [1].
US analysts offer mixed views on Bosnia and Herzegovina's threat level. Some see them as a competitive opponent requiring focus, while others consider Bosnia among the lowest-ranked European teams and a limited threat due to their narrow win over Qatar in group play [3, 4, 2, 5]. The US team is favored to win with betting odds of -263, while odds for a draw stand at +400 and Bosnia at +650 [2].
The US aims to start strong to replicate early goal scoring from previous matches and advance further in the tournament [2]. The USMNT opened their World Cup camp on May 27 and Ream's press comments came June 29 as the team prepares for the match scheduled for July 1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi's Stadium [4, 3, 1, 2].
