The audiences will be chanting loudly tonight – USA, USA, USA, while the guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to deal with the mental pressure as well as the fact that they are tipped at (+415) to drop out of the FIFA World Cup at the end of their only knockout stage game.
USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Odds
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| USMNT to Advance | -525 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina to Advance | +415 |
357 players claimed the offer this month
USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Date, Where to Watch
- Date: Wednesday, July 1
- Time: 8 pm ET
- Place: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California
- Where to Watch: FOX, FOX One, Fubo
Team USA Has an Easy Draw in the Knockout – Important to Deliver
USMNT is set to progress out of the Round of 32, and whether this is by design (as some critics have pointed out they got a weaker draft) is anyone’s guess. However, dismissing Bosnia and Herzegovina will do no-one any favors.
Let’s talk about the hosts first. USMNT did not draw against a weak group in general, given that the team itself has been reinventing itself over the past years and is slowly but steadily laying claim to soccer as a sport that the nation is good at.
USA dominated in its game against Paraguay starting with an explosive 4-1 that set the mood for the rest of the group, and similarly won against Australia, before buckling before Turkey, which fought back with a 3-2 in what some have said was a lucky outcome after Kaan Ayhan scored the third goal for his team in the 90+8’.
However, a lesson has been learned, and USMNT exited the group with more or less a stellar record. What the USMNT has demonstrated is an ability to set the tempo early in the game – much like it did against Turkey after Auston Trusty quickly explode an oversight against the Europeans’ defense and scored at the 3’, although Turkey came back in the 10’, which also indicates some lingering issues in the backline.
Where Does Bosnia and Herzegovina Come in All of This?
For their part, Bosnia and Herzegovina had a bit of a middling performance in the tournament. They drew in the Group Stage against Canada, which already qualified out of the Round of 32, and suffered a debilitating defeat at the hands of Switzerland in a 4-1 crush. Yet, the team took home victory against Qatar in a 3-1 game.
The European squad does not play badly, nor is its soccer legacy something to snub at. Regardless, the team has the potential to put up a good fight. Winning against the hosts outright is a bit of a tall order, and on this point the bookmakers are mostly right.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will find it hard to submit the USA in an outright bout, but it has a better chance when and if it reaches the penalties. In any event, though, a draw after the regular time, will be followed by more lengthier sessions – the extra time + 15’ half-times, before penalties may be announced.
In other words, this means that Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to hang in there, and plan for the long game. Of course, we saw how Paraguay stunned Germany, even though the country was supposed to be the weaker one, and so this comeback should serve as a lesson to the USMNT. We still believe Bosnia and Herzegovina has a decent chance and will be rooting for it.
Pick: Bosnia and Herzegovina to Advance (+425)