Balogun: U.S. Ready to 'Find Another Gear' vs. Bosnia
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- Folarin Balogun told reporters the U.S. has shifted into 'knockout football' mentality heading into Wednesday's round-of-32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Santa Clara, California, saying he can 'go into another gear because you want it more.'
- Balogun has two goals in the tournament and forced an own goal against Australia, according to the report from Sunday's practice in Irvine, California.
- The U.S. team has won just one World Cup knockout-stage match in its history — a 2-0 defeat of Mexico in 2002 — a stark historical contrast Balogun and winger Sergiño Dest acknowledged as motivation.
- The United States carries a 12-game winless streak against European opposition (last win: Bosnia, Dec. 18, 2021) and a separate 13-game World Cup winless streak against European teams (last win: Portugal, 2002).
- Sergiño Dest said this U.S. squad is 'a little bit older' and 'more experienced' than past rosters, pointing to early group-stage wins as fuel for the team's confidence heading into elimination play.
- Balogun said the best way to break history is 'not to think about what hasn't been done, just to think about what you need to do,' dismissing the weight of the historical droughts as irrelevant to Wednesday's task.
Why it matters: The U.S. hasn't won a World Cup knockout match since 2002 and hasn't beaten a European team in a World Cup since the same tournament — and its next opponent, Bosnia-Herzegovina, is European. Finishing first in Group D bought the U.S. a winnable round-of-32 matchup, but the historical pattern against European sides makes Wednesday a genuine inflection point for a squad that Balogun and Dest say is more experienced and confident than past American World Cup teams.
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