US soccer brings historic World Cup opportunity to Bay Area in knockout round
The United States is having its soccer moment, with the next big step coming to Northern California.
The biggest World Cup in history — in number of teams, games and fan attendance — is being played on its soil, with the U.S. cohosting alongside Canada and Mexico.
It’s been highly entertaining top to bottom, with closely contested matches featuring international stars stacking goals. Argentina’s Lionel Messi has scored six times, France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland are among the group with four and Englishman Harry Kane has three.
And the home team is looking like a threat to make the deepest run in the modern era while the upcoming chapter for the U.S. men’s national team is taking place in Santa Clara on Wednesday, when the Americans go against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the knockout Round of 32 at Levi’s Stadium. The U.S. clinched its spot as the Group D winner before taking the pitch for its third and final game against Turkey, with a 4-1 win over Paraguay in Southern California and a 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle.
Wednesday’s elimination game could be one of the biggest sporting events in the region’s history.
Which is saying something.
Months after the same stadium hosted its second Super Bowl, with the Golden State Warriors being part of the NBA Finals six times since 2015 and with the San Francisco Giants winning three World Series from 2010 to 2014, there’s a chance Wednesday’s World Cup match could rise to that level.
Especially if the Americans make a run to the final eight or further in the world’s most popular sporting event, which they haven’t done since finishing third in 1930.
World Cup analysis from Republic FC coach
Sacramento Republic FC manager Neill Collins put his analyst hat on in an interview with The Sacramento Bee, evaluating the U.S. team ahead of the pivotal match.
“I thought they were fantastic, I thought they were a joy to watch,” Collins said. “I think their first two games, when they played their strongest (players), the performances were excellent, especially with both first-half performances in both of those first two games. They just blew the opposition away.
“So for the U.S., there’s an awful lot to be excited about.”
The new World Cup format could dampen the impact of the match slightly. It’s the first time for a knockout round with 32 teams thanks to the new 48-team setup. It has 24 teams that finished first or second in group play, along with the eight best third-place finishers.
Which is where Bosnia and Herzegovina fit in: they wouldn’t have advanced under the previous setup where only 16 teams of the 32 teams went to the knockout stage of 16. The “Zmajevi,” which translates to the “Dragons,” went 1-1-1 in group play, tying Canada 1-1, losing to Switzerland 4-1, and beating lowly Qatar 3-1 for their only victory.
That’s partly why the U.S. is heavily favored on betting markets, at minus-265 to win implying a 72.6% chance probability of victory, according to ESPN. The Americans boast arguably the most talented roster in its history with key players playing professionally throughout Europe’s biggest leagues. Not getting to the Round of 16, where the U.S. has gone in its last three World Cup appearances, would be hugely disappointing given their win of Group D in the group stage.
What will it take to get to the quarterfinals?
The Americans haven’t made the final eight teams since 2002, when it lost to Germany in the quarters.
On paper, this U.S. team should be good enough given their work in the tournament so far. Christian Pulisic, who has become one of the best players in the Italian Serie A for AC Milan, told reporters this week he “feels good” after a calf injury cost him the second half of the group stage opener against Paraguay and the second match against Australia.
Pulisic has good rapport with striker Folarin Balogun, who plays his club ball at France’s AS Manaco and had two goals against Paraguay. Right-winger Sergino Dest, who has 51 career appearances for Barcelona and now plays for Dutch club PSV Einhoven, has been one of the American’s best players at creating scoring opportunities.
Yet while many American fans believe the team could make a run at possibly winning the tournament, Collins said he needs to see more before being so bold.
“I think their home country, having that home backing, I think they’re capable of giving anyone a game a day,” Collins said. “(But) I think there’s still another tier to go up to actually be able to win it all. I think you’re going to have to knock off two or three really big opponents when you look at France, Argentina, Brazil, England. I think that’s going to be a tough order. But I think they’re capable of going a long way and I think they’ve got to do that to be considered amongst these guys.
“You’re going to have to beat not just one, but you’re probably going to have to beat a couple to be considered alongside them.”
Pochettino’s fate determined by tournament outcome
Part of the USMNT story is the tactics of manager Mauricio Pochettino, who has already reportedly been given a contract offer to last another World Cup cycle.
Some wonder if the Argentinian would prefer to return to a top club in Europe after previously managing Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and others. Whether he stays will likely depend heavily on how the U.S. finish the tournament.
One of his key decisions to date was sitting nine of his projected starters in the Group D finale against Turkey after the Americans had the group wrapped up. The U.S. lost, 3-2, with Turkey landing the winning goal in the 98th minute.
The decision to sit the vast majority of his best players has been widely discussed, with Pochettino clearly choosing rest over trying to avoid rust.
Collins errs on the side of the coach.
“I think I wouldn’t want to overanalyze that,” he said. “They won their first two games, they’re top of the group. There was nothing really else at stake other than consistency and pride. But I thought the team performed to a good enough level. They certainly shouldn’t have lost the game. So I think when you want to go deep (in the tournament), you want to try and rest these guys where you can, and that was a good opportunity.”
Sacramento remains locked in for World Cup
Republic FC, is hosting another watch party for the Round of 32 at the Memorial Auditorium downtown. Tickets are free at SacSoccerGuide.com. More parties are coming, should the U.S. advance.
Additionally, during a rare off day for the tournament on July 8, Republic FC will be hosting Rhode Island at Sutter Health Park for those wanting to get their soccer fix.
It will be one of two games being played in America that night while the World Cup has its first day with no games during the knockout stages.
