All eyes will be on USMNT as they prepare to take on Bosnia & Herzegovina in their round of 32 clash later tonight at 8pm at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are riding a wave of momentum after a successful group stage campaign, having progressed to the knockouts thanks to two emphatic victories from their opening two matches against Paraguay and Australia. They lost their final group match against Turkey but their top spot had already been sealed.
USMNT will be confident heading into their last-32 encounter against Bosnia, who qualified for the knockout stages in their final group match thanks to a 3-1 win over Qatar. It had been a tricky time for them before that, having drawn to co-hosts Canada and getting thrashed by Switzerland – and the latest odds heading into tonight’s match, via CanadaCasino, highlight the contrasting fortunes.
USMNT vs Bosnia & Herzegovina match odds
USMNT win: -275 (73.3% chance)
Draw: +400 (20% chance)
Bosnia win: +750 (11.8% chance)
(Odds subject to change)
What the managers have said
USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino said (speaking at FIFA’s pre-match press conference): “Tomorrow is a final. The game against Paraguay was a final. We also tried to translate [that message] when we played in Chicago against Germany or in Charlotte against Senegal, or the previous game against Uruguay in Tampa, or in Philadelphia with Paraguay. I tried to create similar feelings and emotion.”
He added: “All that we were working [for] is the moment tomorrow to apply on the field. They need to be relaxed and not to think and tomorrow play with intuition and the confidence that all that we were preparing is going to appear on the field.”
Bosnia boss Sergej Barbarez said: “Look, of course they are favourites. Their place in the rankings, they are the hosts, the names in their team—definitely. We never had a problem with being the underdog. This role, this word, doesn’t mean anything to me. You can throw this word around.
“It’s important what happens on the pitch, and this is what I’m interested in. This is what we are interested in.”
