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United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina will face each other in the Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday, July 1 at 8:00 PM (Cuba time) at the , California. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the history of a World Cup.
The match corresponds to the new round of the round of 32 introduced in this edition of the tournament, the first in history with 48 participating teams. The winner will advance to the next stage of the knockout phase.
The United States arrives at the crossroads as the leader of the with six points, after a group stage dominated in the first two matches. The team coached by Mauricio Pochettino started with a resounding 4-1 win over Paraguay on June 12, a match in which forward Folarin Balogun scored two goals and emerged as the offensive benchmark of the tournament. Giovanni Reyna and Alex Freeman also contributed goals during the group stage.
In the second round, the Americans defeated Australia 2-0 at Lumen Field in Seattle, a result that secured them the top spot in the group early on. Already qualified and with first place in hand, they fell 3-2 to Turkey this Friday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, finishing the group stage with eight goals in favor and five against.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand, experienced a more tumultuous qualification. The team reached the round of sixteen as the with four points, marking a historic milestone for the Balkan team: it is the first time that Bosnia and Herzegovina has advanced past the group stage in a World Cup as an independent nation.
Their performance in the group was inconsistent. They started with a 1-1 draw against Canada on June 12 in Toronto, with a goal from J. Lukić in the 21st minute. Then they suffered a heavy defeat, losing 4-1 to Switzerland, which left them on the brink of elimination. Salvation came on June 24 in Seattle, where they defeated the host Qatar 3-1 with goals from Kerim Alajbegovic, Ermin Mahmic, and an own goal by Sultan Al-Brake. Bosnia finished with five goals scored and six conceded, a negative goal difference that did not prevent their advancement thanks to their performance compared to the other third-place teams.
The only World Cup appearance of Bosnia and Herzegovina was at Brazil 2014, where it debuted as an independent nation and was eliminated in the group stage without ever reaching the knockout round. Twelve years later, the Balkan team breaks that barrier on North American soil.
The United States, as the host country, is favored in this matchup. However, Bosnia arrives with the momentum of having achieved its historic qualification and with players who demonstrated goal-scoring ability at crucial moments. The match will take place at Levi's Stadium, which has a capacity of 68,827 spectators, at 00:00 UTC on July 2.
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