Christian Pulisic is set to return to the starting line-up as the co-hosts target a place in the Round of 16 against Edin Dzeko and co.
Round of 32
Thursday, 2 July | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
Kick-off time
08:00 (GMT+8)
The match
USA are the third and final co-hosts in FIFA World Cup 2026™ Round of 32 action as Mauricio Pochettino’s team face Bosnia-Herzegovina in San Francisco after winning Group D. The Stars and Stripes proved too strong for Paraguay and Australia, before a much-changed side lost a five-goal thriller to Turkey in the closing seconds.
Bosnia-Herzegovina – who qualified for the finals after beating four-time world champions Italy in the UEFA play-offs – finished with four points in Group C. The Dragons drew with co-hosts Canada, lost to Switzerland and beat Qatar to advance as one of the competition’s eight best third-placed nations.
USA have reached the World Cup knockouts seven times before, but this marks Bosnia-Herzegovina’s maiden appearance at this stage, having gone out in the groups on their debut in 2014.
USA possible starting XI
Freese; Dest, Richards, McKenzie, Robinson; Adams, McKennie; Tillman; Pulisic, Balogun, Weah
Bosnia-Herzegovina possible starting XI
Vasilj; Dedic, Katic, Hadzikadunic, Kolasinac; Bajraktarevic, Tahirovic, Sunjic, Alajbegovic; Demirovic, Dzeko
San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
San Francisco Bay Area Stadium has already staged five group matches at World Cup 2026, with the Round of 32 tie between the USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina set to be its final fixture. Located in Santa Clara, it is home to the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and has established itself as one of North America’s leading sports and entertainment venues since opening in July 2014. The stadium hosted Super Bowl 50 in 2016 and Super Bowl LX a decade later, while also welcoming global music stars such as Ed Sheeran, Metallica and Taylor Swift down the years.