The United States men’s national team’s opponent for the first World Cup knockout round has been confirmed, with Bosnia-Herzegovina lying in wait for the co-hosts in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday.
That matchup was confirmed by results in Group F on Thursday, where Sweden’s 1-1 draw against Japan meant that Bosnia would be the third-place team to face off with the U.S.
The U.S. team has already guaranteed first place in Group D, courtesy of impressive back-to-back victories against Paraguay and Australia. Mauricio Pochettino‘s side round out the group stage by facing Türkiye on Thursday.
Bosnia clinched a spot as one of the best eight third-placed teams in the group stage with a 3-1 win over Qatar on Wednesday to leave them on four points. Bosnia has played in only one other World Cup — 2014 in Brazil — and didn’t get out of the group stage.
Speaking after that win, Bosnia coach coach Sergej Barbarez avoided speculating about a matchup with the U.S. but said he was confident his team will be up for the task on the host country’s soil.
“All of this is a bonus for us,” Barbarez said. “We will be extremely relieved, and we will try to take on any team that comes our way. We are confident enough to face anyone.”
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Three other round of 32 matchups have also already been confirmed: Canada against South Africa, Netherlands versus Morocco and Brazil facing off with Japan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
