USA vs Bosnia: Lineups, Time and How to Watch

Christian Pulisic returns to the United States starting lineup for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, July 1, at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with kickoff at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET, the fourth meeting between these two nations and their first in official competition.

Confirmed Starting Lineups

U.S. Soccer officially confirmed its starting eleven on match day. Mauricio Pochettino made nine changes to the lineup for the Türkiye dead-rubber and has now made a World Cup team-record ten changes to restore the squad for Bosnia, with Weston McKennie the only player to start across all three group games.

United States: Matt Freese, Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Alex Freeman, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman, Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Nikola Vasilj, Tarik Muharemović, Stjepan Radeljić, Nikola Katić, Sead Kolašinac, Ivan Šunjić, Armin Gigović, Amar Dedić, Kerim Alajbegović, Ermedin Demirović, Edin Džeko.

Mark McKenzie and Cristian Roldan are unavailable for the United States. Džeko, Bosnia's all-time leading scorer with 73 goals in 150 caps, captains the Balkan side.

Pulisic Back for His 89th Cap

Pulisic sustained a left calf injury in the first half of the Paraguay opener on June 12 and was withdrawn at halftime as a precaution. He missed the 2-0 win over Australia entirely and entered from the bench in the 58th minute against Türkiye on June 25. He has now been named in the starting XI for the knockout match, according to U.S. Soccer's official lineup release.

His 89th international appearance makes him the most-capped starter in the XI, ahead of Tim Ream's 85. He lines up alongside Folarin Balogun, the team's leading group-stage scorer with two goals, reprising the partnership that produced three first-half goals and a 3-0 lead at halftime in the Paraguay opener.

How to Watch USA vs Bosnia

U.S. viewers can watch in English on FOX, with streaming available via FOX One. Spanish-language coverage is on Telemundo and Peacock. Fútbol de Primera carries Spanish-language radio commentary, according to U.S. Soccer's official how-to-watch guide.

For viewers outside the United States, local rights vary by territory. The 2026 World Cup broadcasting rights are held by country-specific partners, check your local broadcaster or the FIFA app for your territory.

The match is being played at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, the tournament name for Levi's Stadium, in Santa Clara, not San Francisco city.

The USA's Group-Stage Route

The United States finished Group D with six points, a team record for a single World Cup group stage, having beaten Paraguay 4-1 in Inglewood and Australia 2-0 in Seattle before losing a rotated side 3-2 to Türkiye in a dead-rubber finale. The group-stage loss to Türkiye carried no bracket consequence: the USA had clinched first place before that match kicked off.

The team conceded just once across the first two matches, Paraguay's 73rd-minute goal that made it 3-1 in the second half was the only breach against the first-choice starting lineup. Against Türkiye, a reshuffled side conceded three. The team's official FIFA ranking, published June 11, is 17th.

The United States have not won a World Cup knockout match since beating Mexico 2-0 in 2002. As the group-stage record shows, Pochettino's side earned the cleaner knockout draw by topping the group rather than exiting via third place.

Bosnia's Run and Džeko's Role

Bosnia and Herzegovina are making only their second World Cup appearance and reached the knockout stage for the first time. In Group B they drew Canada 1-1, lost to Switzerland 4-1 and beat Qatar 3-1, finishing as the fifth-best third-place qualifier with four points.

The route to the tournament required two consecutive penalty shootout wins in the UEFA playoff in March. Bosnia beat Wales 1-1 after 90 minutes in the semi-final, then eliminated Italy 1-1 in Zenica in the final, winning both shootouts, 4-2 and 4-1, in single-leg ties played a week apart. UEFA confirmed both results.

Džeko's strike partner here is Ermedin Demirović. Their group-stage top scorer, Ermin Mahmić, who scored twice, drops to the bench. Eighteen-year-old Kerim Alajbegović, already a scorer during the group stage, starts as the advanced midfielder. His captain beside him, Džeko scored Bosnia's third World Cup goal when he assisted Tabaković's equaliser in the playoff final and holds the national all-time scoring record at 73.

Bosnia scored in five of their six World Cup matches, the lone blank was a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria at the 2014 tournament, and their back line has never kept a clean sheet across those six games.

Head-to-Head

This is the teams' fourth meeting and first in competitive football. According to U.S. Soccer's official opponent profile, the United States leads the head-to-head record with two wins and one draw, 4-3 in a 2013 friendly, 0-0 in 2018 and 1-0 in December 2021. Bosnia have never beaten the United States in any of the three previous meetings.

For the USA, a win ends a 24-year knockout drought. For Bosnia, a first World Cup knockout victory would surpass anything in the federation's short international history.

Belgium Awaits the Winner

Belgium is confirmed as the next opponent. The Red Devils defeated Senegal 3-2 after extra time on July 1 in a separate Round of 32 tie, confirmed by the Associated Press, setting up a Round of 16 fixture in Seattle on July 6.

The full knockout bracket is listed on FIFA's official match schedule.