Bosnia and Herzegovina ended up as the U.S. opponent because it finished third in its group with four points , which was enough to qualify as one of the tournament’s best third-place teams. The U.S. won its group, and the World Cup knockout bracket then matched the Group D winner against one of the qualifying third-place teams, which turned out to be Bosnia and Herzegovina.

How the bracket worked

  • The 2026 World Cup uses a 48-team format with a Round of 32.
  • The top two teams in each group advance automatically.
  • The eight best third-place teams also move on, and Bosnia and Herzegovina was among them.

Why Bosnia specifically

Bosnia and Herzegovina secured its spot by finishing third in Group B with four points, helped by a 3-1 win over Qatar. That put it into the knockout field and set up the matchup with the U.S. on July 1 in Santa Clara, California.

The simple version

So the short answer is: Bosnia and Herzegovina did not get “picked” by the U.S.; it advanced through the group stage as one of the best third-place teams, and the bracket logic assigned it as the U.S.’s Round of 32 opponent.

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