United States v Bosnia – predictions and odds – 2026 World Cup (2 July 2026)

The hosts, the United States, will play their round of 32 match against Bosnia at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco. The stadium has a capacity of 65,000 and is the usual home ground of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.

The match will take place on 1 July at 8.00 pm local time, with the Americans clear favourites at all bookmakers.

The United States were one of the standout teams of the group stage

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been one of the teams to have made the best impression so far at the World Cup. They kicked off the tournament with a 4–1 thrashing of Paraguay and confirmed their fine form with a 2–0 win over Australia on matchday two.

Their only defeat came in their final group match, when top spot was already secured and the Argentine manager opted for numerous changes to the line-up against Turkey.

The most striking match was, without a doubt, the one against Paraguay. The United States comfortably beat a side that traditionally stands out for its defensive solidity and which, moreover, had just knocked Germany out in the round of 16.

On that day, we saw a side that pressed aggressively, attacked directly and was capable of playing at a very high tempo for long periods. That is the kind of performance I hope to see again in this tie.

Bosnia capitalised on their group’s weakness

Bosnia and Herzegovina is probably one of the European teams with the fewest resources in the tournament, but they managed to capitalise on a manageable group to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.

They started with a draw against Canada in a match where, to be honest, they were rather fortunate to come away with a point. They then suffered a clear 4–1 defeat to Switzerland.

Their qualification was decided on the final matchday, when they beat Qatar 3–1, one of the weakest teams in the tournament. Thanks to that result, they went through with four points and a goal difference of -1.

The feeling is that Bosnia have already more than done their job by reaching this stage.

Prediction: United States v Bosnia and Herzegovina

The odds reflect the United States being clear favourites, which I consider logical given their performance in the group stage and the home advantage.

That is precisely why I struggle to find much value in the traditional markets. Bosnia may adopt a very defensive approach and hold out for quite some time, something we have already seen in several knockout ties, where the favourites are struggling to break the deadlock.

However, there is one secondary market that I find particularly interesting: corners.

The United States are a team that play with great intensity, frequently attack down the flanks and create numerous attacking opportunities when they dominate matches. This usually translates into a high number of corners.

The statistics from the group stage are quite striking. The Americans took 4 corners against Paraguay, 7 against Australia and 11 against Turkey.

For their part, Bosnia conceded 9 to Canada, 7 to Switzerland and 5 to Qatar.

I expect a match in which the United States take the initiative from the start, with Bosnia packing the box to try and hold out.

That sort of match usually produces crosses, blocked shots and moves that end in a corner.

For that reason, I find two options particularly interesting. The first is ‘over 6.5 corners for the USA’ at odds of 2.10. The second, a slightly more conservative option, is ‘over 9.5 total corners in the match’ at odds of 1.83; should the USA take an early lead, this could give us a better chance of winning with Bosnia’s help, as they would be forced to go on the attack.

Both bets fit in quite well with the scenario I expect for this match.