Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The USMNT faces Bosnia in a crucial World Cup knockout match after a recent friendly loss to Türkiye.
- The United States has lost eight straight games against European opposition, scoring only eight goals in that span.
- A win against Bosnia would mark the USMNT's first victory over a European team since beating Portugal at the 2002 World Cup.
This has undeniably been a successful World Cup campaign so far for the United States, but all the good will and positivity created during the group stage will go out the window if they are knocked out by Bosnia & Herzegovina. The U.S. will begin Wednesday night's clash in the San Francisco Bay Area as clear favorites, but fans cannot take anything for granted.
Six nights ago, after Mauricio Pochettino heavily rotated his lineup, the Stars and Stripes were beaten 3-2 by Türkiye in Los Angeles; Kaan Ayhan poking home the winner in the 98th minute. While this was an inconsequential dead-rubber for both, it did continue the USA's miserable recent record against European opposition, a streak they'll be looking to end against Bosnia.
United States' results against European opposition (2021-present)
Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
June 2026 | World Cup Group D | 3-2 loss vs. Türkiye |
June 2026 | Friendly | 2-1 loss vs. Germany |
March 2026 | Friendly | 2-0 loss vs. Portugal |
Marcy 2026 | Friendly | 5-2 loss vs. Belgium |
June 2025 | Friendly | 4-0 loss vs. Swizterland |
June 2025 | Friendly | 2-1 loss vs. Türkiye |
October 2023 | Friendly | 3-1 loss vs. Germany |
December 2022 | World Cup last 16 | 3-1 loss vs. Netherlands |
November 2022 | World Cup Group B | 0-0 draw vs. England |
November 2022 | World Cup Group B | 1-1 draw vs. Wales |
May 2021 | Friendly | 2-1 loss vs. Switzerland |
March 2021 | Friendly | 2-1 win vs. Northern Ireland |
Concerningly, the United States have now lost eight successive meetings with European opposition, conceding 24 goals and scoring just eight. This sequence began when Gregg Berhalter's team were dumped out in Qatar by Netherlands, followed by six successive friendly loses.
The last time the Stars and Stripes avoided defeat when taking on a UEFA team was during the last World Cup, holding both Wales and then England to group phase draws. Sticking with the British theme, the United States' most-recent win over European opposition came in Belfast, beating Northern Ireland 2-1 in March 2021. Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic were the scorers, a match played behind-closed-doors at Windsor Park due to covid restrictions, underlining how long ago this was.
So, we've established that the USA's recent record against European teams is not great, but the vast majority of these matches have been friendlies, in which the result doesn't really matter. So, what about at the World Cup itself?
United States' record vs. European teams at the World Cup
Year and round | Result |
|---|---|
2026 Group D | 3-2 loss vs. Türkiye |
2022 round of 16 | 3-1 loss vs. Netherlands |
2022 Group B | 0-0 draw vs. England |
2022 Group B | 1-1 draw vs. Wales |
2014 round of 16 | 2-1 loss vs. Belgium - after extra time |
2014 Group G | 1-0 loss vs. Germany |
2014 Group G | 2-2 draw vs. Portugal |
2010 Group C | 1-1 draw vs. England |
2006 Group E | 1-1 draw vs. Italy |
2006 Group E | 3-0 loss vs. Czech Republic |
2002 quarter-final | 1-0 loss vs. Germany |
2002 Group D | 3-1 loss vs. Poland |
2002 Group D | 3-2 win vs. Portugal. |
1998 Group F | 1-0 loss vs. FR Yugoslavia |
1998 Group F | 2-0 loss vs. Germany |
1994 Group A | 1-0 loss vs. Romania |
1994 Group A | 1-1 draw vs. Switzerland |
1990 Group A | 2-1 loss vs. Austria |
1990 Group A | 1-0 loss vs. Italy |
1990 Group A | 5-1 loss vs. Czechoslovakia |
1950 Group 1 | 1-0 win vs. England |
1950 Group 1 | 3-1 loss vs. Spain |
1934 round of 16 | 7-1 loss vs. Italy |
1930 Group 4 | 3-0 win vs. Belgium |
- United States Wins: 3. Draws: 6. European Team Wins: 15.
- United States Goals Scored: 22. European Team Goals Scored: 46.
To date, USA have won only three of 24 World Cup encounters against European teams. The most-recent of these victories came against Portugal 22 years ago, racing into a 3-0 lead in Suwon, with Bruce Arena's team rather hanging on to prevail 3-2 in the end. Well, 2002 was the last time the U.S. reached the quarter-finals, hoping for a similar run this time.
Their only other victories came at the first-ever World Cup, hammering Belgium 3-0 in Montevideo 96 years ago, and against England in 1950. Joe Gaetjens was the only scorer in Belo Horizonte, securing one of the biggest shocks the competition has ever seen.
Thus, of course, Bosnia are not as strong as many of the European powerhouses the United States have come up against in the past, but a victory at Levi's Stadium would still be historic, so will Pochettino's team progress through to a round of 16 clash with either Senegal or Belgium?
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