USA hosts Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 

After winning Group D, USA faces Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place in the Round of 16

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The FIFA World Cup 2026 continues with the United States of America facing Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, 8:00 PM ET (5:00 PM local), at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California, USA.

USA opens its eighth appearance in the Knockout Round at a FIFA World Cup after winning Group D. The Stars and Stripes finished the Group Stage with six points from a 2-0-1 record, with the team defeating Paraguay 4-1 and Australia 2-nil in its first two fixtures.

Amongst the top performers for Mauricio Pochettino’s side was forward Folarin Balogun, who recorded a key brace against Paraguay. At the other end, 21-year-old right back Alex Freeman is enjoying a breakout tournament, getting onto the scoresheet against Australia and playing the full 90 minutes in two of his three appearances.

Bosnia and Herzegovina advanced to the Knockout Round as one of the best third-place teams and is coming off a 3-1 victory over Qatar. The Europeans concluded the Group Stage with four points and 1-1-1 record in Group B.

The Knockout Round matchup presents the fourth all-time meeting between the nations and the first in an official competition. USA holds an unbeaten record in the three friendlies played to date, posting two wins and a draw.

United States Bosnia and Herzegovina Game Notes

• This will be the fourth meeting between USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Stars and Stripes unbeaten in the first three (W2 D1), all in friendlies from 2013 to 2021.
• Having also faced Canada in the group stage, this will be Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second match at this FIFA World Cup against a host nation. Along with South Africa this year, who faced Mexico in their group and Canada in the round of 32, this is the first time any side has faced two host nations at a single World Cup since 2002, when Türkiye faced both Japan and Korea Republic.
• The USA are looking to win a knockout match in the FIFA World Cup for the second time, after beating Mexico 2-0 in the 2002 Round of 16 thanks to goals by Brian McBride and Landon Donovan.
• The USA ranked third for percentage of opposition touches they applied high-intensity pressures to (47.6%), behind only fellow hosts Canada (49.6%) and Uruguay (47.8%).
• Folarin Balogun scored two goals for USA in the group stage of this FIFA World Cup; the only players to score 3+ in a single edition of the finals for the nation were Bert Patenaude (4 in 1930) and Landon Donovan (3 in 2010).
• Despite playing just 77 minutes at the 2026 FIFA World Cup so far, Christian Pulisic has recorded three shots, two shots on target, three chances created, and five successful dribbles.