USMNT Confident Heading Into ‘Crunch Time’ of Knockouts | OneFootball

IRVINE, Calif. – Sunday officially ushered in a new, heightened stage of FIFA World Cup 2026 for the U.S. Men’s National Team plus the 31 other nations still alive in the competition.

As Canada-South Africa kicked off at Los Angeles Stadium the first-ever Round of 32 in the tournament’s 96-year history, the U.S. Men’s National Team returned to training roughly 50 miles south at its base camp at Orange County Great Park. The USMNT is fresh off winning Group D, the third time in program history the U.S. has finished first in the group at a FIFA World Cup and the first time since 2010, and with a new week underway, the attention turns to the all-important knockout stage.

The U.S. faces Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, July 1 in the Round of 32, the first round of the tournament to feature single elimination. From here on out, the schedule is bracket-style – a win means advancement, a loss means elimination. Each game, each minute, each touch on the ball is important, and the entrance onto a new stage has sharpened the energy as the USMNT continues preparations in Irvine.

“It’s more serious,” striker Folarin Balogun said. “It’s crunch time. It’s knockout football… this is the business end. This is the stage where the big players step forward, carry the pressure and make things happen.”

Balogun is a player who has made things happen for the U.S. Men’s National Team thus far in the team’s summer campaign. Though he sat out of the group stage finale against Türkiye to prevent yellow card accumulation, he leads the team in scoring at FIFA World Cup 2026. The New York-born striker has been a force for the USMNT so far in the tournament, scoring a brace against Paraguay and forcing an own goal against Australia, as he aims to become “inevitable.”

After starting the first two group stage matches, Balogun was among the tournament-high nine changes that head coach Mauricio Pochettino made between the Australia match on June 19 and the group stage closer against Türkiye on June 25. A meaningless match for both sides with no stakes – after two matches, the U.S. had already won Group D and Türkiye had already been eliminated from the competition – led to heavy rotation for the USMNT, a chance for players deep on the roster to get some World Cup minutes and be prepared to help the team later on.

Another starter from the matches against Paraguay and Australia, and one of those rotated in the team's most recent match was wingback Sergiño Dest. Dest came off the bench, replacing midfielder Gio Reyna, against Türkiye to play 24 minutes plus stoppage time. Dest has been a valuable contributor for the team on both sides of the pitch, and though the 25-year-old is eager to score his first FIFA World Cup goal, as one of 13 returnees on the squad from the 2022 edition in Qatar, Dest knows very well the stakes of the next round.

“It’s a knockout round, and if you want to win the World Cup, you have to beat everyone and be able to beat everyone, from Europe or Africa, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “We just want to win.”

According to Dest, the knockout rounds mean players must be sharp at all times. One play can change a game, as Canada showed with its stunning game-winner in second-half stoppage time which came from Stephen Eustáquio after a 90-minute scoreless deadlock against a stout South Africa defense – and one game can change the whole trajectory of the tournament.

“It gives you a little bit more pressure, but also a boost,” Dest said. “Even though, for example, sometimes you play against opponents that are better on paper, you just need a lucky day, so I feel like it's more pressure for everyone.”

The U.S. is riding a soaring wave of momentum following winning Group D and playing three matches at home venues on the West Coast in front of enthusiastic fans. Though the group stage ended for the U.S. in a last-gasp loss to Türkiye, Pochettino was positive in his post-match press conference. In finishing atop Group D, his team collected the most points in program history in a FIFA World Cup group stage. On Sunday, Balogun and Dest confirmed the team’s positive mindset, emphasizing the belief heading into the Round of 32 showdown with The Dragons.

“We’re very confident because we finished first in the group,” Dest said. “Everybody’s confident. We’re more experienced, we have better chemistry and we’re in a good head space. Everybody is concentrated. The whole country believes at the moment, so I think that’s our advantage.”

With the knockout rounds comes a shift – in venue, cadence, energy and seriousness. There are fewer days between matches and the team is on the road moving forward. But one thing that players are counting on to remain the same is the support from the American fans. Playing a FIFA World Cup on home soil, seeing Stars and Stripes jerseys pack the stadiums, adds energy. Full-house crowds at both Los Angeles Stadium and Seattle Stadium during the group stage have proven to be an advantage for a motivated home side.

“As the team grew, the fans did as well,” Dest said. “The support that we get, especially in the friendly games before the World Cup, and now during the World Cup, is huge. I like the change because it helps us a lot, gives us an extra boost in the game as well, and that's what we need. We all need to do it together. That’s how we can write history.”

The team will carry that charge up the California coast as they depart base camp in Orange County tomorrow and make for the San Francisco Bay Area. If the team continues winning and advancing through the knockout stage, the path after the Round of 32 keeps the U.S. at stadiums where they’ve played previously this tournament, and where the fan support has been incredibly high: Seattle Stadium for the Round of 16 and Los Angeles Stadium for the Quarterfinals. Those two cities have shown the kind of energy – and noise – they can bring, which would make a meaningful impact for a U.S. side looking to make history on home soil.

But first, the next task at hand kicks off Wednesday. Behind the rallying cries of the U.S. soccer faithful, the USMNT’s next goal is clear and simple.

“We play on Wednesday, and the objective is to win,” Balogun said.