USA vs. Bosnia And Herzegovina Confirmed For The Round of 32: Here’s What To Know

The USA’s next World Cup opponent is official: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina finished its three Group A matches with four points, including a win over Qatar in Seattle on the final match day. It will now head south for its next match, which will be on Wednesday, July 1, in Los Angeles. Here’s everything to know about the matchup: Bosnia And Herzegovina’s World Cup Journey Bosnia and Herzegovina finished second in its qualifying group behind Austria. It went 5-2-1 in a group that also included Romania, Cyprus and San Marino. From there, Bosnia and Herzegovina advanced thanks to a pair of victories in penalty shootouts. The first match was against Wales in Cardiff, where Edin Dzeko scored in the 86th minute to make the score 1-1 before the Bosnians then won the shootout 4-2. That victory against Wales set up a home match against Italy in the final playoff round. Italy took a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute, but defender Alessandro Bastoni received a red card in the 41st minute. Bosnia equalized through Haris Tabakovic in the 79th minute (Dzeko assisted the goal), and then it won the shootout 4-1 after two misses from Italy. At the tournament itself, Bosnia and Herzegovina opened with a 1-1 draw against Canada before losing in convincing fashion, 4-1, to Switzerland. Then, a 3-1 win over Qatar was enough to finish third in its group on four points with a -1 goal difference. The Key Players The name that soccer fans are most likely to recognize: Edin Dzeko. The 40-year-old striker is the all-time leader with 150 appearances and 73 goals for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dzeko has played for Manchester City, Roma and Inter Milan during his career. Since moving to FK Teplice in Czechia in the summer of 2005, he has scored 443 career goals. He is not the same player he was during his days in England or Serie A, but he is still more than capable of taking a chance in front of goal. The first goal against Qatar came from 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegović, who is headed to Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. He’s not the only promising young player for the Bosnians, though. Winger Esmir Bajraktarevic broke through at PSV Eindhoven this past season and made 36 appearances there. Bajraktarevic actually grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, but opted to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina, where his parents were born. “He was the best passer in this game,” our Brian Sciaretta wrote in his takeaways from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s win over Qatar. “At just 24, Basic is a player not just for this World Cup, but he will also be important to Bosnia & Herzegovina by a long stretch.” Another player who stood out: Ermin Mahmic, who scored Bosnia’s third goal against Qatar after coming off the bench in the 63rd minute. “Finally,” Sciaretta wrote, “there is Ermin Mahmic, the 21-year-old who put the game out of reach with the third Bosnia and Herzegovina goal. Born in Austria to Bosnian parents, Mahmic played for the Austrian youth national teams in the past. It was only last month, in May, when he completed a change-of-association switch with FIFA to play for Bosnia & Herzegovina. In doing so and then scoring in this game, he became one of the key pieces to this national team’s future.” Where And When Will USA vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina Be Played? This matchup will take place on Wednesday, July 1, at Los Angeles Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, and the game can be watched on FOX and streamed on FOX One.