With the last day of group play set for Saturday, the United States already knows its opponent in the Round of 32. Making their first appearance at this stage, Bosnia-Herzegovina will be the team standing in the way of Team USA’s advancement to the Round of 16.
After their loss to Türkiye on Thursday evening, when nearly all their starters didn’t play, critics are playing mind games with US Soccer fans about how important this loss is. Well, it didn’t mean crap, and anyone who tells you otherwise doesn’t understand the depth, heart, and talent of the USA roster.
Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino chastised reporters after the Group D loss and reminded them that they had already advanced to the next round. He was perturbed and could not believe that anyone considered this game important.
The game served two purposes: the backups got a chance to get their feet wet in a World Cup game, and Christian Pulisic played part of the second half to shake off the rust after a calf injury limited his World Cup play to one half.
Heading into Wednesday’s World Cup match at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California, should be a good test for Team USA. They’ll be at full strength and free of any yellow-card infractions after their wins against Paraguay and Australia.
The toughness Team USA showed against two physical combatants should be a clear reminder that this squad doesn’t fear any style of play. In each early-stage win, they combined resilience and athletic ability to keep the winning margin.
Even against Türkiye, down 2-1 at halftime, they found their spark in the second half before giving up a last-minute goal to end the Group Stage. Remember, their opponent played their starters the entire match, and that had a lot to do with the outcome. The fact that the backups competed for nearly 99 minutes against a talented team should be cause for celebration – not chasing a clean sweep in the Group Stage.
Still, despite the enormous fan support as the host country, there is a general belief that this team can make a deep run. However, should they reach the Final Four, they’re likely to have to defeat both France, the World Cup favorite, and Argentina, the defending champions.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Team USA can’t look past Bosnia-Herzegovina, even though they are new to this stage. They are disciplined, and though they lack Team USA’s scoring punch, they generally don’t miss the back of the net when given the chance.
If there’s a flaw in the USA’s game, it’s the defensive back line. Spacing has been an issue in all three games, and giving the ball up near midfield when the numbers don’t favor the Americans leaves them vulnerable to counterattacks.
Now we still have five days to dissect this game, but let’s be honest. The sentiment is that Team USA can make a run and shock the soccer world. The fact that the USA, Mexico, and Canada have combined to be wonderful hosts should be celebrated.
So, let’s not get ahead of ourselves before France and Argentina wake up to reality. We should be celebrating that Pochettino saw this coming while we didn’t. Team USA officials saw it too, which is why they offered their Head Coach a role on the Team USA bench through the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.
For now, enjoy the final day of Group play, let the brackets fill out, and enjoy whatever happens next for Team USA!
