SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The U.S. men's national team's ambitions of a deep run at the FIFA World Cup hang on something they have not accomplished since 2021: Beat a team from Europe.
In Wednesday's must-win Round of 32 match at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, the Americans hope to finally climb that hill with a win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. A victory would mark the first World Cup knockout win for the U.S. since 2002.
Compared to powerhouses like France or Spain, Bosnia is a relative minnow of European soccer. Ranked No. 64 by FIFA ahead of the World Cup, the Bosnians fought their way into the tournament on an upset playoff win over Italy in March — then, they muscled into the knockout round after a 1-1 draw with Canada and a 3-1 win over Qatar.
The Americans are the favorites. But no knockout game is a sure thing, as Germany proved Monday when it fell to Paraguay on penalty kicks.
"For us, it's the final of the World Cup," said U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday. "If we don't think in this way, we are going to struggle."
The U.S. expects to field a fully healthy starting 11 for the first time in this World Cup, thanks to the return of star winger Christian Pulisic, who left the opening game against Paraguay at halftime after a calf injury was exacerbated when he was kicked by a defender. The U.S. went on to win that game 4-1 and their next one against Australia 2-0, with Pulisic sitting out.
Pulisic returned as a sub in the Americans' third group stage match against Turkey. "I felt great in the game against Turkey, so I'm feeling good this week," he told reporters on Tuesday. "I'm definitely ready to go for tomorrow."
Playing for Bosnia is the American-born winger Esmir Bajraktarević, a 21-year-old native of Appleton, Wisc., born to Bosnian parents who came to the U.S. in 2001 after fleeing conflict in their home country during the 1990s.
In Bosnia, Bajraktarević's parents and their families lived near Srebrenica, where some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed in July 1995 in one of the only events in history formally deemed a genocide by the International Court of Justice. Multiple members of their families were killed.
Bajraktarević grew up speaking Bosnian at home, he has said, and stayed close with relatives who remained in Bosnia. Although he came up through MLS academies and U.S. Soccer youth national teams, Bajraktarević formally switched his national team to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2024.
Bajraktarević scored the game-clinching penalty that sent Bosnia to the World Cup in its March upset of Italy, which was then ranked No. 13 in the world. After his kick found the net, Bajraktarević tore off his jersey and held up the back of it, with his family name across the top, to the fans and cameras.
"He can feel the jersey he's wearing. It means very much to him," said Bosnian coach Sergej Barbarez on Tuesday. "He knows where he belongs. He knows which team he plays for. He knows where his parents come from."
It is Bosnia's second World Cup appearance after being eliminated in the group stage in 2014.
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