2026 World Cup: United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina—Probable Lineups

The Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup continues overnight from Wednesday to Thursday (Italian time), with the United States taking center stage once again in front of their home fans: Bosnia and Herzegovina will face the USMNT for a spot in the Round of 16 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The match kicks off at 2 a.m. Italian time (5 p.m. local time), with Brazilian referee Raphael Claus officiating.

The United States, winners of Group D, continue to dream big: their World Cup began with a decisive 4-1 victory over Paraguay (whose strength has been significantly reevaluated following their win against Germany), with goals from Balogun (a brace) and Reyna, as well as an own goal by Bobadilla. They then won their second match 2-0 against Australia, with a goal by Freeman following an own goal by Burgess, while their third, inconsequential match ended in a 3-2 loss to Turkey, with goals for the Stars and Stripes by Trusty and Berhalter.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, which qualified for the World Cup at Italy’s expense, managed to secure a spot among the top eight third-place finishers after earning four points in a group that also saw Switzerland and Canada advance. After a 1-1 draw against the Canadians (Bosnian goal by Lukic), Dzeko and his teammates were routed 4-1 by Switzerland, scoring only through Mahmic in a match they played with ten men for the final 10 minutes following Muharemovic’s red card, but the 3-1 victory over Qatar (goals by Alajbegovic and Mahmic, plus an own goal by Abunada) secured their qualification.

Probable Lineups

UNITED STATES (4-2-3-1): Freese; Freeman, Richards, Ream, Robinson; Adams, Tillman; Dest, McKenzie, Pulisic; Balogun. Head Coach: Pochettino.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (4-4-2): Vasilj; Dedic, Katic, Muharemovic, Kolasinac; Bajraktarevic, Basic, Sunjic, Alajbegovic; Demirovic, Dzeko. Head Coach: Barbarez.