USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
The United States are keen to use their home advantage when they host Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium on Wednesday for their Round of 32 match in the World Cup 2026.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side has been one of the top performers in the quadrennial tournament so far. The Stars and Stripes opened their campaign with back-to-back wins against Paraguay (4-1) and Australia (2-0) before losing to Turkiye (3-2) on the final matchday. As a result, they qualified for the knockouts by taking the top berth in Group D at six points.
Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina barely made it to the knockouts, having finished third behind Switzerland and Canada in Group B. After a 1-1 draw against Canada in the opener, the Dragons lost 4-1 to Switzerland before winning 3-1 against Qatar, making them the fifth-best third-seed in the competition.
Talking Points
USA plan to go full force
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino is expected to deploy his best squad against Bosnia and Herzegovina after he deployed a rotated squad in their 3-2 loss to Turkiye in the group stage finale.
Christian Pulisic came back to the pitch near the hour mark and provided a solid cameo, and the AC Milan forward received a standing ovation from the crowd. Before this, he played only the first 45 minutes in their opener against Paraguay and missed the Australia match altogether due to a nagging calf injury.
Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, and Antonee Robinson didn’t play against Turkiye because they all had one yellow card, and Pochettino didn’t want to risk them getting another in the group stage, or they’d be suspended against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Despite missing several key players, the United States performed well against the Crescent Stars. Auston Trusty scored within the opening three minutes, and Sebastian Berhalter scored the equaliser in the 49th minute. The match was level until Kaan Ayhan struck deep into stoppage time.
Moreover, there are injury concerns for the United States, as Christian Roldan, Mark McKenzie, and Auston Trusty are questionable for Wednesday’s game. But overall, they should be alright.
Bosnia and Herzegovina receive lineup boost
Bosnia and Herzegovina are expected to play on the back foot against the United States on Wednesday, so they’ll need all hands on deck on the defensive end, and it helps that one of their top defenders is back in the mix.
Tarik Muharemovic, who’s being coveted in the transfer market, is ready to be called up again after the Sassuolo centre-back finishes serving his suspension, stemming from his straight red card against Switzerland, when he denied Johan Manzambi an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with a poor foul just outside the box. He’ll likely replace Stjepan Radeljic in the starting XI to reunite with Sead Kolasinac, Nikola Katic, and Arjan Malic in the Dragons’ back four setup.
History
Wednesday marks only the fourth competitive meeting between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the former going undefeated so far with two wins and one draw. The Stars and Stripes won 4-3 against the Dragons in their first international friendly in August 2013 before following it up with a goalless draw in January 2018 and a 1-0 victory in December 2021.
The United States are still searching for their first knockout match win since finishing reaching the quarter-finals in 2002. In 2022, they reached the Round of 16 but lost 3-1 to the Netherlands.
Bosnia and Herzegovina are in the World Cup for only the second time ever after breaking away from Yugoslavia to be an independent nation. The Dragons are into the knockouts for the first time.
Betting Tip
As of the tournament’s co-hosts, the World Cup 2026 odds are backing the United States to advance to the next round at the expense of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Stars and Stripes are 1.36 favourites to win, whereas the Dragons are huge 8.60 underdogs, and a draw after 90 minutes is at 4.71 in the 1X2 market.
Both teams are expected to produce new World Cup 2026 highlights at Santa Clara, with the hosts expected to score more. With that said, SBOTOP bettors can also consider adding Over 2.25 at 1.62, Over 2.50 at 1.85, Over 2.75 at 2.09, and even Total Goals 2-3 at 2.01 to the parlay.
However, if you fancy a low-scoring affair, check out the Correct Score of 1-0 in favour of the United States – the result of their most recent encounter – given its decent payout of 5.80.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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