The United States heads into the World Cup Round of 32 having qualified top of Group D. Christian Pulisic and co won their first two games before registering a shock defeat to bottom-placed Turkey in their final group game.

USMNT will look to advance to the Last 16 of the World Cup with a win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Dragons drew with another co-host, Canada, in their tournament opener. They will be hoping to go one better in their second encounter with a co-host on July 1st in California.

But what threat do Bosnia-Herzegovina pose to Mauricio Pochettino’s side?

Who are Bosnia-Herzegovina?

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Blake Dahlin

Bosnia-Herzegovina is located in south-east Europe, bordering Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. The country was previously a part of Yugoslavia until its breakup in 1992, gaining independence in the process.

Minor tension around the fixture has already been generated following the viral on-air comments made by an American journalist. ABC7 reporter Abigail Velez’s attempt at trash-talk backfired massively, resulting in widespread criticism and an eventual apology from Velez.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Record at World Cup 2026

Who are the Best Bosnia-Herzegovina Players?

Reuters/Steven Bisig

Even at 40, Edin Dzeko continues to offer a major threat up front. The imposing striker was a part of Manchester City’s first Premier League-winning squad under Roberto Mancini in 2012, and has since added major triumphs at Inter Milan and Wolfsburg. Dzeko scored five times in World Cup qualifiers to help Bosnia-Herzegovina make the final 48 teams in North America.

Former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac sits at the heart of the Bosnian defence. Now playing for Serie A’s Atalanta, he was integral to their Europa League triumph in 2024.

Attacking midfielder Ermin Mahmic might end the tournament as one of the World Cup’s young standouts. The 21-year-old’s impressive campaign for Czech side Slovan Liberec has carried over into the World Cup, scoring twice in the group stage.

There’s also the connection between the two nations to consider, symbolised by PSV Eindhoven’s Esmir Bajraktarevic. The winger debuted for the United States as a teenager in 2024 before switching allegiance to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The former New England Revolution star now plays alongside United States internationals Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi in the Netherlands. Bajraktarevic also scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Italy in the qualifying playoffs, sending his country to the World Cup.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Manager and Style of Play

REUTERS/Daniel Cole

• Manager: Sergej Barbarez
• Tactics/Style of Play: 4-4-2 (Classic)

A joint-top scorer in the Bundesliga during the 2000-01 campaign for Hamburg, Bosnia-Herzegovina manager Sergej Barbarez has injected an attacking approach into his side.

Adopting a classic 4-4-2 in each group game, Barbarez has utilised two defensive midfielders to provide balance. His team’s record at the World Cup suggests mixed results tactically. Defensively, they were strong against Canada and Qatar, but their collapse against Switzerland will be a source of encouragement for the United States.

However, as the joint tallest team at the World Cup, Barbarez’s side have taken full advantage of their towering presence. Bosnia-Herzegovina lead the way with three goals from set pieces and this could prove difficult for the United States to handle.

Serena Williams could find herself on the end of a hefty fine following her exit from Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Williams received a wildcard invitation from the All England Club to participate in this year’s tournament, which marked her first outing in a professional tournament since the 2022 US Open.

The legendary star was handed a favourable first-round draw, facing off against world number 87, Maya Joint, who came into the match with just one win in her last 14 outings.

Williams was unable to capitalise on the Australian’s poor form going into the match, however, and fell to a 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 defeat to Joint, who was making just her second appearance at the prestigious event.

Serena Williams Dumped Out of Wimbledon in First Round

Andrew Couldridge via Reuters

In the first set, it was Joint whose delightful hitting put her ahead against a slightly rusty Williams. In the second, Joint broke serve straightaway, but the seven-time champion came back and used all her experience and wit to break back and claim the tiebreak to level up the match.

In the decisive set, both players started strongly, but a tiring Williams was unable to keep up with the much younger Joint. The American would then fall to a 6-3 defeat in the final set to hand the victory to last year’s Eastbourne Open champion.

In a surprising decision, Williams opted not to face the media for a post-match press conference, a decision that could end up costing her $50,000.

Statements Made After Serena Williams’ Wimbledon Exit

Andrew Couldridge via Reuters

An official statement from Wimbledon said: “Unfortunately, Serena Williams will not be able to undertake media this evening.”

Instead, she provided a brief statement regarding her return to the big stage, saying: “It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here.

Williams could be punished for not attending the press conference, however, as the Grand Slam Rulebook requires players to attend post-match media ‘unless unable to appear on reasonable grounds (for instance illness or injury)’

Andrew Couldridge via Reuters

“If a player is unable to appear, the appropriate level of direct communication is requested. Violation of this Section shall subject a player to a fine up to $50,000,” the rule goes on to say.

It remains to be seen whether Wimbledon will take any action with regard to Williams’ decision, but it is expected that we will hear from her before she teams with her sister, Venus, in their doubles later this week.

For Maya Joint, off the back of the biggest victory of her short career so far, she will take on 29th seed Alexandra Eala in the second round.

Mexico is facing potential FIFA punishment after a shocking chant overshadowed preparations for a possible World Cup clash with England. The co-hosts have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament so far, most recently cruising to a 2-0 win over Ecuador to book their place in the Round of 16, where they will face either DR Congo or the Three Lions.

El Tri are the first nation since Italy in 1990 to win their opening four matches of a major international tournament without conceding a goal. They achieved the feat after victories over South Africa, Korea and the Czech Republic in the group stage, before seeing off Ecuador in the knockout rounds. It also marks their first World Cup knockout-stage victory in 40 years.

The jubilant scenes across Mexico on Monday night reflected not only the significance of that achievement, but also the growing belief that this team can go even further. Confidence is understandably high given they have lost just twice in their last 88 competitive matches at the Azteca Stadium, the venue for their next fixture.

Mexico Fans’ Shocking Chant vs Ecuador Rears Its Ugly Head

However, while the celebrations were largely good-natured, sections of the home support have since come under fire for allegedly directing ‘disgraceful’ chants at an Ecuadorian player. The incident has sparked controversy and could now land Mexico in hot water with FIFA.

The chant, the one-word slur ‘puto’ that literally means male prostitute in Spanish, usually occurs when the opposing goalkeeper is taking a goal kick. It has reared its ugly head for the fourth straight tournament after it went viral at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and was heard again at the next editions in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar. Watch below:

As per the Daily Mail, Mexico fans have once again ignored requests and education programs by the Mexican football federation aiming to control the abuse. Just before the tournament kicked off in Estadio Azteca, Mexican soccer officials had launched a campaign to deter the chant.

Titled ‘La Ola Sí, El Grito No,’ the campaign uses members of Mexico’s 1986 World Cup team to encourage fans to do the wave but not the chant. But that seems to have fallen on deaf ears, as fans have been chanting the slur since their opening game of the tournament and it came to a head yesterday.

FIFA Punishment Could Be on its Way for Mexico

Just before the kick-off of this year’s tournament, Mexico had been sanctioned for the all-too-familiar homophobic slur. The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s latest ruling in a series of Mexico vs. FIFA appeal cases came over more than 10 years after the World Cup in Brazil.

The latest case at CAS followed FIFA prosecutions of incidents at games in 2024 against Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil and the United States. The chant was heard by anti-discrimination monitors who have also been working for FIFA at the World Cup’s 104 games in Mexico, the USA and Canada.

CAS said its judges upheld FIFA-imposed fines totallling 140,000 Swiss francs ($178,000). They lifted a sanction of closing part of a stadium at a FIFA-organized game such as the World Cup. The court said its judges at a hearing in Miami in March weighed the Mexican federation mitigation that it had “put measures in place since 2015 to educate, prevent and eradicate the chant.”

“They (the judges) observed that the conduct of the fans was collective and widespread, and not merely a one-off occurrence,” CAS said in a statement. Noting the ‘unique nature’ of the challenge facing Mexican soccer officials, the court said the federation should not escape liability. But some have argued that fans are better at policing this behaviour than FIFA.

“On the one hand, FIFA fines aren’t working,” The Athletic’s Matt Slater wrote on X. “But, on the other, we can’t just let some Mexican fans keep screaming an anti-gay slur each time the opposing goalie boots it. Self-policing by fans is the best way to fix this…now would be a good time to start.”