Balogun says USMNT ready for Bosnia and Herzegovina clash

Folarin Balogun carried two goals from the group stage into the United States’ Round of 32 meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and said the USMNT entered the match with confidence but sharper concentration. The game was set for Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with kickoff listed for 5 p.m. PT, 8 p.m. ET.

The matchup came in the first men’s World Cup to use a 48-team field and a Round of 32, a format that stretches the tournament to 104 matches. For the United States, the stakes were immediate: Mauricio Pochettino’s squad finished first in Group D, the third time the program had topped a World Cup group and its first group-winning run since 2010. U.S. Soccer framed the fixture as a chance to deliver the country’s first knockout-stage win at a World Cup since beating Mexico in 2002.

Balogun has been central to that push. The AS Monaco forward scored twice in the United States’ 4-1 win over Paraguay during the group stage and was named to Pochettino’s 26-man World Cup roster. He switched his international allegiance to the United States in May 2023 after FIFA approved his one-time change of association, ending a youth career that had included England. His rise has given the U.S. another attacking option as the knockout bracket begins to reward efficiency over territory.

The forward’s comments before the Bosnia and Herzegovina match pointed to the tension that has followed the USMNT into this tournament. Balogun described the group as calm and ambitious, but he also stressed that the preparation for the elimination rounds required more concentration. That balance of belief and discipline has become the central question for a team with talent across the roster but a limited record in World Cup knockout games.

Christian Pulisic also returned to the starting lineup after dealing with physical issues in earlier matches, adding another layer to a U.S. side that arrived in Santa Clara with its strongest names available for the first do-or-die test of the tournament. Bosnia and Herzegovina reached the knockout phase as the bracket took shape after the group stage, putting the United States into a round that carried both immediate pressure and a chance to change its World Cup history.