USA can't overlook Bosnia & Herzegovina as World Cup knockouts begin | OneFootball

By Alejandro Bedoya

Country roads, take me home… To the place I belong… West Virginia, mountain mama… Take me home, country roads.

By now, we’ve all watched the clip: The United States national team, walking around Seattle Stadium after beating Australia, with more than 65,000 fans singing John Denver’s hit song “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

It was an incredible moment, seeing players saluting the fans and taking it all in. Everyone’s singing at the top of their lungs, the whole stadium’s bouncing and there’s just so much pride in being American. A post-game ritual was born.

Bosnia showdown

That only adds to the anticipation for Wednesday’s game in the Bay Area, a primetime showdown with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 (8 pm ET | FOX, Telemundo, Peacock). 

If the US win, I guarantee you that song will be played and we will get more videos of everybody singing and celebrating. I know I’ll be joining in! Plus, as a player, you want to feed off the energy from the crowd and create those special moments. It gives you even more motivation to perform.

Now, this Bosnia game won’t be easy. They have experienced players like Edin Džeko and Sead Kolašinac, young talents breaking through, and a whole bunch of guys playing in top European leagues. 

Don’t read too much into how Bosnia finished third in Group B – this is a strong team. They’re comfortable sitting back to counter-attack and know how to take advantage of set pieces. And remember, they knocked Italy out in the UEFA qualification playoffs.

But are the US favorites? Definitely, and they should feel confident and comfortable after their performances against Paraguay and Australia in the Group Stage. They’re a superior team on paper and have shown their ability to reach another level or two.

Fast start

I want to see the US have another fast start, come out of the gates with energy and score early. We saw it against Paraguay and Australia by forcing own goals, and the other night against Türkiye with Auston Trusty scoring off the corner kick. That sets the tone, gets the fans into it and shows you mean business.

Replicating that intensity shouldn’t be a problem for the US. Nearly the entire first-choice group was rested against Türkiye, and, in hindsight, I think it was the right call by Mauricio Pochettino.

None of our starters got injured, we avoided yellow-card suspensions and our best player got some minutes as he recovers from a knock. Christian Pulisic reinforced how valuable he is to the team. I also really liked what I saw from Weston McKennie sporting the armband; he’s stepped up big-time during this tournament.

I don’t want to say that the Türkiye defeat doesn’t matter or that the game was meaningless. You learn something every time you play. But I’m not too concerned that they lost and don’t think it will noticeably impact this Bosnia match in any serious way.

Dream on

I also think the players recognize how massive these next few weeks could be.

Win and they’ll set up a Round of 16 match vs. Belgium or Senegal on July 6 in Seattle. Then the bracket would have them in a July 10 quarterfinal in Los Angeles, potentially against Spain. Maybe even a semifinal in Dallas on July 14 versus France or Morocco.

Those are huge opportunities, the types where you write your legacy as players and as a team.

The US won’t look that far ahead. But the fans? They’re going to dream about a deep run and have seen moments from these guys to suggest it's possible. It’s definitely not a given, but it’s within reach – especially with the home-field crowd behind them.

It all starts Wednesday against Bosnia. I can’t wait to see this team perform and keep inspiring the country.

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