2026 World Cup: Italy’s Nightmare Ridiculed in the U.S., Scandal Erupts
The enthusiasm for the teams performing well at the 2026 World Cup knows no bounds—let alone for the host nation. Despite their loss to Turkey in their final Group D match, the United States managed to finish at the top of their group, earning a matchup that is certainly not too daunting in the Round of 16. The U.S. will face Bosnia and Herzegovina, which finished third in Group B. The match will take place at 2 a.m. Italian time on Thursday, July 2, and was announced on TV with words that sparked a minor but genuine scandal. This upset not only the Dragons’ national team but their entire country. But all of Europe, including Italy—which was actually eliminated by Edin Dzeko and his teammates in the playoffs and thus couldn’t participate in the World Cup—was also annoyed. And Italy certainly didn’t take kindly to the taunt directed at the team that has become a veritable national nightmare.
The person responsible for the diplomatic incident is Abigail Velez, a correspondent for ‘ABC 7 Los Angeles,’ who, after the official announcement of the United States’ next matchup, exclaimed live on air: “I know absolutely nothing about Bosnia, and I don’t even want to know. I wouldn’t be able to point it out on a map. The fact is, Team USA is back and stronger than ever. It’s happening next Wednesday (in Italy, it will technically already be Thursday, ed.). Get ready, Bosnia, because you don’t want this to happen. You don’t want it to end this way. But it’s going to happen anyway.”
An act of pure arrogance that went far beyond the scope of the 2026 World Cup and the world of sports, sparking protests even within the United States. So much so that it prompted Abigail Velez to issue a public apology several hours later. “In a clumsy attempt to joke a little about the World Cup, I crossed the line and made a thoughtless, insensitive, and inappropriate comment on live TV. I apologize to the Bosnian people and the Bosnian national soccer team. The World Cup is meant to unite communities around the world, and my comment did not reflect that spirit. I wish the best to all the teams continuing their journey in the tournament,” wrote the ill-advised TV correspondent in an Instagram post.
Yet, if the American correspondent had been curious enough to do even a cursory bit of research, she would have discovered that she was dealing with a team that is anything but insignificant. Bosnia and Herzegovina is making its second World Cup appearance after 2014, but this time it entered the tournament with a very different level of confidence, having eliminated top-tier opponents like Wales and, indeed, Italy in the playoffs. A qualifying campaign that has made the team led by Sergej Barbarez one of the most celebrated revelations on the European soccer scene.
In Group B, the Dragons finished in third place, a result that nonetheless allowed them to advance to the round of 16 thanks to the “best third-place finishers” rule. In the group stage, they faced, among others, Canada—a co-host of the tournament—and Switzerland, earning valuable points in a group that, on paper, left no room for error. Barbarez’s team relied primarily on defensive solidity and the quality of an attack led by Ermedin Demirovic, with Edin Dzeko serving as the team’s technical and symbolic leader.
The match will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and will be broadcast in Italy on ‘DAZN’ starting at 2 a.m. on Thursday, July 3. Those hoping to watch the match on free-to-air TV will be out of luck: unlike other Round of 16 matches, such as Brazil vs. Japan or France vs. Sweden, the game between the United States and Bosnia is not among the six being broadcast by Rai. This is a detail that will certainly not please the many Italian fans who, unable to cheer for their own national team, will watch the Bosnians’ match with particular emotional fervor. And while there might have been more people “rooting against” them before, perhaps this diplomatic own goal will also shift public opinion across Italy.
