On Wednesday, the US Men’s National Team faces Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 at the FIFA World Cup.
The last time the USMNT were in the knockout stage of the World Cup, they were defeated handily by the Netherlands in 2022.
That team was coached by Gregg Berhalter, who was on the field playing for the USMNT the last time they won a world cup knockout stage game in 2002.
This time around an Argentine named Mauricio Pochettino is looking to be the first USMNT manager since Bruce Arena to do just that.
So far, Pochettino has guided the Americans (ranked No. 15 by FIFA) to first place in their group and a favorable matchup against the No. 61 Bosnia and Herzegovina.
But there was a slight hiccup. The USMNT lost its last group stage game to No. 27 Turkiye 3-2.
The USMNT had already won Group D by the time they played Turkiye and rested captain Tim Ream, starting center back Chris Richards and starting defensive midfielder Tyler Adams.
In that game, the USMNT scored first but Turkiye got the last laugh in second half stoppage time.
One of the USMNT’s top players, Christian Pulisic came on as a sub in the 57th minute but couldn’t put his team over the hump.
In the USMNT’s first group stage game, Pulisic was instrumental on the USMNT’s first two goals of the tournament. As of now, it’s unclear if he will start Wednesday night, but he told FOX Sports that he was “feeling good” and is “excited to go for it” tomorrow against Bosnia.
Folarin Balogun has been the tip of the spear for the USMNT so far in the World Cup, scoring two goals which leads the team. Balogun will be the key goal scoring threat for the USMNT while Pulisic and Weston McKennie will look to assist him.
It is often said that the playoffs are a new season, or in other words, the regular season means nothing. Consider the group stage at the World Cup as meaning nothing.
No. 41 Paraguay lost to the US 4-1 in the Group D opener and then beat No. 10 ranked Germany in a penalty shootout to advance to the Round of 16 where they await the winner of the US-Bosnia match.
Bosnia and Herzegovina had an impressive 8W, 1L, 2D record in their World Cup qualifying group. They then emerged victorious against Wales in the UEFA Playoff semifinals and against Italy in the final.
In Group B, Bosnia and Herzegovina showed resilience by rebounding from a 4-1 loss in their second match with a 3-1 win in their third and final match, which ensured they finished as the fifth best third place team.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s leading scorer at this World Cup has been 21-year-old Ermin Mahmic. They are captained by 40-year-old Edin Dzeko who is the team leader in appearances and goals. Dzeko started Bosnia’s previous game vs Qatar as one of two strikers in a 4-4-2 formation. Mahmic came off the bench and scored Bosnia’s third goal in a 3-1 victory.
While the USMNT are favored to advance past Bosnia, sleep on Bosnia at your own peril. They are more than capable of shutting down the US attack and grinding out a win in penalties, if the US doesn’t bring their A game.
Prediction: USMNT win 2-1 in extra time.
