US likely to face Bosnia in World Cup, and is lined up for Seattle return

The United States’ round-of-32 opponent at the World Cup will likely be Bosnia-Herzegovina, according to The Athletic’s World Cup forecast. And the Americans are in line for a return to Seattle if they keep winning.

World Cup: Bosnia-Herzegovina beats Qatar 3-1 in Seattle

Bosnia concluded its Group B slate with a 3-1 win over Qatar on Wednesday afternoon in Seattle, which gave the southeastern European nation a third-place finish in its group.

The top two teams from each of the 16 groups and the eight best third-place teams advance to the round of 32. Bosnia, with four points, is likely to be among the eight best third-place finishers.

World Cup group standings

The United States already clinched first place in Group D and will play its round-of-32 match against a third-place team from Group B, E, F, I or J on July 1 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. According to The Athletic’s simulator, there’s now a greater than 99% chance the United States’ opponent for that match will be Bosnia.

If the Americans win their round-of-32 match, they would return to Seattle for a round-of-16 match on July 6 at 5 p.m.

The United States opened group play with a 4-1 win over Paraguay on June 12 in Inglewood, California, and then beat Australia 2-0 on June 19 in Seattle.

The U.S. concludes group play against Turkey on Thursday night in Inglewood, but the match will have no bearing going forward. The Americans are already locked into their spot in the 32-team knockout round and Turkey has been eliminated.

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