Balogun leads USA charge to end 24-year World Cup knockout drought against Bosnia

The United States will attempt to end a 24-year wait for a World Cup knockout win when they face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, with striker Folarin Balogun leading the charge after finishing the group stage as the team’s top scorer.

The Americans advanced from Group D as winners but carry a bruise into the knockout rounds — a 3-2 defeat to Türkiye in which they conceded the decisive goal in the 98th minute. The last time the U.S. won a knockout match at a World Cup was at the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan, where they beat Mexico in the round of 16 before losing to eventual runners-up Germany in the quarterfinals.

“It’s just more serious,” Balogun told reporters at the U.S. training base in Irvine, California. “It’s crunch time, it’s knockout football. You lose, you go home, so this is the business end, and this is the stage where, in my opinion, the big players step forward, and the big players carry the pressure and make things happen.”

Balogun has two goals to his name in the tournament and created Australia’s own goal through relentless pressing. His appetite for more is clear. “I don’t want the journey to end,” he said. “The objective is to win. I’m not somebody who would look back and think we’ve done well. That’s not really my mentality.”

Christian Pulisic is also expected to feature prominently. The star winger contributed to the Americans’ first two goals against Paraguay before a left calf injury forced him off and ruled him out of the Türkiye match. He played 32 minutes in that game and is expected to return to the starting lineup on Wednesday. At training, Pulisic looked sharp — vocal and demanding, constantly directing teammates during drills.

The U.S. has not beaten a European opponent since a 1-0 friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 December 2021, making Wednesday’s opponents a familiar but still formidable test. The group, by all accounts, has used the days since the Türkiye defeat to reset and refocus, with Balogun describing a palpable shift in the camp’s atmosphere.

“I can feel the difference,” he said. “There’s a change in my mindset and mentality. Not that I wasn’t taking it seriously before, but you can just go into another gear because you know you want it more.”