{"id":32260,"date":"2026-07-01T19:13:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/usa-v-bosnia-and-herzegovina-world-cup-2026-last-32-live-world-cup-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T19:13:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:13:22","slug":"usa-v-bosnia-and-herzegovina-world-cup-2026-last-32-live-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/usa-v-bosnia-and-herzegovina-world-cup-2026-last-32-live-world-cup-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina: World Cup 2026 last 32 \u2013 live | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/p>\n

Key events<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lineups<\/h2>\n

No surprise whatsoever for the co-hosts \u2026<\/p>\n

USA: <\/strong>Freese; Ream, Richards, Freeman; Robinson, Dest; Tillman, McKennie, Adams, Pulisic; Balogun<\/p>\n

Fotmob calls it<\/a> a 3-4-2-1, with Pulisic and McKennie as twin attacking mids.<\/p>\n

Wait \u2026<\/p>\n

3-4-2-1? \u2026<\/p>\n

IT\u2019S A THREE-SIX-ONE!! (Cue nightmare flashbacks of 1998<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

But honestly, the difference between a 3-4-3 and a 5-4-1 is how well a team is controlling the ball. It might be a mistake, though, to let Robinson spend too much time forward and leave Ream vulnerable. The US captain didn\u2019t look comfortable when he had to leave his comfort zone alongside Richards in central defense and go out to the wings.)<\/p>\n

FWIW, Fotmob says Bosnia also <\/em>will be in a 3-4-2-1. No one believes they\u2019ll play with that many players forward. But we\u2019ll list them that way for now.<\/p>\n

Bosnia and Herzegovina: <\/strong>Vasilj; Muharemovic, Radelji\u0107, Kati\u0107; Kola\u0161inac, Ba\u0161i\u0107, Gigovic, Dedi\u0107; Alajbegovi\u0107, Demirovi\u0107; D\u017eeko<\/p>\n

Dedi\u0107 started the first two games but was out injured for the win over Qatar. Muharemovic returns from a red-card suspension.<\/p>\n

But the surprise is Gigovic, the former Swedish international now with Young Boys in Switzerland. He played 61 minutes in the tie with Canada and hadn\u2019t appeared since then. \u0160unji\u0107, a former Croatian international, makes way.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no place for Wisconsin-born Esmir Bajraktarevi\u0107. Not yet, anyway.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a result that just goes to show how brutal the fates can be. There\u2019s no such thing as karma in soccer. The most impressive team over 90 minutes doesn\u2019t always win. One save or one deflection can make one manager an idiot or a genius.<\/p>\n

So the pundits who are already drawing up their previews of the USA\u2019s Round of 16 game might want to cool their jets.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

We pause now for the denouement of Belgium-Senegal.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Familiar face<\/strong><\/p>\n

For many years, Wisconsin-born Esmir Bajraktarevi\u0107<\/strong> was part of the US soccer pipeline. He played for youth national teams. He worked his way up through the youth ranks at the New England Revolution and overlapped just slightly with US goalkeeper Matt Turner.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Bajraktarevi\u0107 was the child of Bosnian refugees. One of his heroes was Edin D\u017eeko<\/strong>, the Sarajevo-born player who distinguished himself at Manchester City, Wolfsburg and Roma.<\/p>\n

At age 40, D\u017eeko is still on the team. At age 21, so is Bajraktarevi\u0107, who converted the winning shot in the penalty shootout that sent his country to the World Cup ahead of Italy.<\/p>\n

Jeff Rueter writes:<\/p>\n

double quotation markHe didn\u2019t miss, slotting his attempt just underneath Donnarumma\u2019s gloves as the keeper dove to his left. Bajraktarevi\u0107 peeled off to the corner flag and held his Bosnia aloft for the home supporters to admire: Zmajevi<\/em> were back in the World Cup at Italy\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n

That sort of fearlessness in the big moment, coupled with experience scuppering a 2026 World Cup co-host\u2019s home-field advantage, makes Bajraktarevi\u0107 and his team a compelling first knockout adversary. for the US.<\/p>\n

And he has had an impact in this Cup. Jeff notes:<\/p>\n

double quotation markBajraktarevi\u0107 started against Canada and Qatar and came off the bench against the Swiss, logging 214 minutes (including stoppage time) and operating as a recipient for progressive passes. Only Ivan Ba\u0161i\u0107 has played more passes into the box than Bajraktarevi\u0107\u2019s five for Bosnia and Herzegovina, per Futi, while his 70 attacking-third touches trail his opposite winger, Kerim Alajbegovi\u0107.<\/p>\n

Esmir Bajraktarevi\u0107 <\/a>Share<\/p>\n

Preamble<\/h2>\n

Welcome to one of the biggest games in US men\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Such sentiments are often overstated. But this game will have one of two possible outcomes …<\/p>\n

1. A third win in the same World Cup for the first time in US men\u2019s history. Even the semifinalists of 1930 only won twice. The win would be validation that the team\u2019s start to the tournament was no outlier \u2013 though seeing Paraguay knock out Germany just three games after the US ran riot over the South American side provides ample demonstration that this US team should officially be rated \u201cnot bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. A national deflating.<\/p>\n

Should the USA win and then lose to Senegal … wait, what just happened? Oh. Should the USA win and then lose to Senegal or Belgium, that would be yet another in a succession of losses in the round of 16, but again — they would have won three games and would probably stake a claim as one of the better teams to miss out on the quarterfinals. A loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina would be less palatable among US sport fandom.<\/p>\n

Which may be unfair, because this is absolutely the<\/strong><\/em> biggest game in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n

Until this year, the only points the young nation had managed in the World Cup final tournament were in a dead-ish rubber against Iran in 2014. In theory, Iran could\u2019ve wiped out the World Cup debutants and advanced past Nigeria on goal difference, but the Iranian team put up little resistance and collapsed to a 3-1 defeat.<\/p>\n

Last year, Bosnia and Herzegovina put up a credible performance in group-stage qualifying, finishing second behind Austria. Then they won two nail-biting affairs in the European playoffs, eliminating Wales on penalties after a late goal from grizzled veteran Edin D\u017eeko, then shocking Italy on penalties after another second-half equalizer.<\/p>\n

Then in their return to the Big Dance after 12 years away, Bosnia and Herzegovina stunned co-host Canada with a first-half goal and held on for an impressive draw. Switzerland picked them apart, but they advanced with a solid 3-1 smackdown over Qatar.<\/p>\n

And Bosnia and Herzegovina absolutely will not be intimidated. Nor should they. This is a country that endured the horrors of the years of war that followed the collapse of Yugoslavia. Some of the players are the children of refugees from that conflict.<\/p>\n

They also happen to have a lot of players who\u2019ve been through pressure cookers in European football, along with some tantalizing prospects.<\/p>\n

The USA will be playing to shed the tag of underachievers that has dogged the so-called \u201cgolden generation\u201d ever since the failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina will be playing for a long-awaited breakthrough on the international scene.<\/p>\n

On paper, perhaps this is a game that favors the USA. Ask England if being favored on paper meant the game was easy. Or ask Germany if such a designation kept them from being swept out of this Cup.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here\u2019s an excerpt from Graham Ruthven\u2019s daily World Cup watch guide about this matchup:<\/em><\/p>\n

What to watch for<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pochettino\u2019s decision to rest most of his first-choice players for the USA\u2019s dead-rubber group finale against Turkey will have paid dividends if the co-hosts are able to keep up the intensity of their play against a Bosnia and Herzegovina team who will sit deep and ask to be broken down.<\/p>\n

Bosnia and Herzegovina embrace the slog. They made it to this World Cup by winning back-to-back penalty shootouts against Wales and Italy and will attempt to make the USA\u2019s life a misery in Santa Clara by closing space between the lines, staying compact at the back and playing for set pieces.<\/p>\n

Player to watch: <\/strong>Christian Pulisic, USA \u2013 The Milan winger made his return from injury against Turkey and could be in line to start this match. Pulisic\u2019s direct running and one-v-one ability could be critical to breaking down the Bosnia and Herzegovina backline.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Key events Lineups No surprise whatsoever for the co-hosts \u2026 USA: Freese; Ream, Richards, Freeman; Robinson, Dest; Tillman, McKennie, Adams, Pulisic; Balogun Fotmob calls it a 3-4-2-1, with Pulisic and McKennie as twin attacking mids. Wait \u2026 3-4-2-1? \u2026 IT\u2019S A THREE-SIX-ONE!! (Cue nightmare flashbacks of 1998.) But honestly, the difference between a 3-4-3 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10666],"tags":[22452,952,22453,870,746,919],"class_list":["post-32260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reparations","tag-bosnia","tag-cup","tag-herzegovina","tag-live","tag-usa","tag-world"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctbGl2ZS5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=02b03ecf51961e9c152cc3ce542d9c6e",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a8411541ded6738b06012edf3ca4d570ff20974f\/621_0_4773_3818\/master\/4773.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&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NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Key events Lineups No surprise whatsoever for the co-hosts \u2026 USA: Freese; Ream, Richards, Freeman; Robinson, Dest; Tillman, McKennie, Adams, Pulisic; Balogun Fotmob calls it a 3-4-2-1, with Pulisic and McKennie as twin attacking mids. Wait \u2026 3-4-2-1? \u2026 IT\u2019S A THREE-SIX-ONE!! (Cue nightmare flashbacks of 1998.) But honestly, the difference between a 3-4-3 and…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32262,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32260\/revisions\/32262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}