National Writer: Charles Boehm<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n SANTA CLARA, Calif. \u2013 There\u2019s no sporting stage quite as big as the FIFA World Cup<\/a>. And once you\u2019ve reached it, there\u2019s no tension quite like the tournament\u2019s knockout stages.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Every touch takes on extra significance. Every play could become a life-changing moment. Every mistake could be the one that stunts your team\u2019s dreams.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the pressure cooker the United States<\/a> step into when they face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Wednesday night\u2019s Round of 32 clash at the hulking home of the San Francisco 49ers, dubbed San Francisco Bay Area Stadium for this summer’s event (8 pm ET | FOX, Telemundo, Peacock).<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand what it means. You win or you go home,\u201d star attacker Christian Pulisic said Tuesday morning as the Yanks held their final pregame training session at the San Jose Earthquakes<\/a>\u2019 PayPal Park.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely needs to be a lot of focus and attention to detail this week. But I think the vibe feels good. We’ve still kept it light, and we still are going to be ready to battle once the whistle blows.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Let’s get it. \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 pic.twitter.com\/WoVdNbojsY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 1, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n After emphatic wins over Paraguay and Australia clinched first place in Group D with a game to spare, the USMNT had the rare luxury of throttling back a bit against T\u00fcrkiye, rotating nine of their starting XI to rest and protect those carrying heavy mileage and\/or yellow cards in what eventually turned out to be a last-second 3-2 loss<\/a> to an already-eliminated side.<\/p>\n Since then, head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his players have repeatedly dismissed the idea that doing so robbed them of momentum.\u00a0Now they must prove as much against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a tenacious adversary with a growing list of upsets to their credit, most prominently UEFA qualification playoff shocks over Wales and Italy.<\/p>\n Should they win, they’ll move on to the Round of 16 and meet Belgium or Senegal on July 6 in Seattle. A loss dashes their tournament dreams.<\/p>\n \u201cBosnia is a very combative and aggressive, physical team,\u201d said Pochettino in his Matchday-1 press conference, \u201cbut also they have good organization, good coach, really good coach, in the way that you see the games they play in the Group Stage, or the qualification in March against Italy. You can see that they have quality, not only that they are aggressive or good organization, they have players with quality and a coach that provide the platform to perform.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is why, for us, this is the final of the World Cup tomorrow. If we don’t think in this way, I think we are going to struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Things you love to see! \ud83e\udd79 https:\/\/t.co\/aUhx3kl7Ye<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Dragons already know what it means to square off with a host nation, having held Canada<\/a> to a 1-1 draw<\/a> in Toronto during their 2026 World Cup opener.<\/p>\n They possess creativity in young wingers Kerim Alajbegovi\u0107 and Esmir Bajraktarevi\u0107, the latter a dual-national son of Bosnian refugees who grew up in Wisconsin and made his breakout in MLS as a New England Revolution<\/a> homegrown, then earned a reported $6 million transfer to Dutch power PSV Eindhoven.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a classic example of what\u2019s happening lately since I\u2019ve been here. We\u2019ve expanded our horizons all the way to the US,\u201d Bosnia manager Sergej Barbarez said of Bajraktarevi\u0107, who earned a January-camp cap with the USMNT before switching allegiance<\/a> to his ancestral homeland.<\/p>\n \u201cEsmir is a very good guy. He\u2019s a nice, extremely well-mannered guy who knows why he\u2019s here. He can feel the jersey; he\u2019s inspired.<\/p>\n \u201cThis touch of American culture is very important, because we have guys from all over the world, who were born all over the world. This is a big advantage for us, that we have brought all these cultures and nationalities into one unit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Golazo America (@GolazoAmerica) June 28, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Up top, Bosnia are led by the burly strike duo of Edin D\u017eeko \u2013 at age 40, a national icon with massive experience across the English Premier League, Italy\u2019s Serie A and the German Bundesliga \u2013 and Ermedin Demirovi\u0107 of Stuttgart.<\/p>\n \u201cFacing Bosnia presents a challenge; they play with two physically imposing forwards who are excellent at holding up the ball and playing off long balls and second balls,\u201d said Pochettino in Spanish.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is crucial for our two center backs to contain those strikers. We\u2019ve been working on that, knowing that Bosnia is a difficult opponent, especially with their dynamic players arriving from the second line and wingers who cross the ball very well. Those crosses are dangerous because they have players who are strong in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n From ’22 to ’26: Tom Rinaldi takes us through the journey of the @USMNT<\/a> leading up to this moment at the FIFA World Cup \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 pic.twitter.com\/SRjjcd6btv<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 1, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The first two matchdays of the Round of 32 served up suspense and surprises, with Paraguay upsetting Germany and Morocco knocking off the Netherlands, both via gripping penalty-kick shootouts on Monday, and Canada\u2019s late heroics to edge South Africa inspiring their nation on Sunday.<\/p>\n That all represents both possibility and peril for the US, whose 4-1 rout<\/a> of Paraguay in their opening match looks that much more impressive after La Albirroja stifled a four-time world champion.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the moment you’re a fan, and then afterwards you realize that this is also the same tournament that we’re playing in. I think it’s a weird dynamic,\u201d said FC Dallas<\/a> product Chris Richards of the European elites\u2019 shock elimination. \u201cIt’s making sure that we don’t allow that to happen to us.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s our chance to go farther in this tournament,\u201d Richards added. \u201cNow we’ve seen two big boys fall, so it’s just a matter of us getting through this game and playing a good performance, and hopefully we continue that \u2026 It’s starting to open up, so it’s very exciting for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
Knockout test<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Esmir returns<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Dynamic duo<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Cautionary tale<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n