The United States men's national team's opponent for the first World Cup knockout round has been confirmed, with Bosnia-Herzegovina lying in wait for the co-hosts in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday.
That matchup was confirmed by results in Group F on Thursday, where Sweden's 1-1 draw against Japan meant that Bosnia would be the third-place team to face off with the U.S.
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The U.S. team had already guaranteed first place in Group D, courtesy of impressive back-to-back victories against Paraguay and Australia, prior to its last-minute 3-2 loss against Türkiye on Thursday night at the SoFi Stadium.
Bosnia clinched a spot as one of the best eight third-placed teams in the group stage with a 3-1 win over Qatar on Wednesday to leave them on four points. Bosnia has played in only one other World Cup -- 2014 in Brazil -- and didn't get out of the group stage.
Speaking after that win, Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez avoided speculating about a matchup with the U.S. but said he was confident his team will be up for the task on the host country's soil.
"All of this is a bonus for us," Barbarez said. "We will be extremely relieved, and we will try to take on any team that comes our way. We are confident enough to face anyone."
Three other round of 32 matchups have also already been confirmed: Canada against South Africa, Netherlands versus Morocco and Brazil facing off with Japan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
