San Francisco, July 1 (IANS) USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted his side is prepared for every possible scenario, including a penalty shootout, as the hosts gear up to face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 at the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Thursday.

The Americans topped Group D after impressive victories over Paraguay (4-1) and Australia (2-0), sealing qualification for the knockout stage with a game to spare. Pochettino then rotated his squad for the final group fixture, where the USA suffered a 3-2 defeat to Turkiye after conceding a late winner. Regular starters Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun and Chris Richards are all expected to return to the starting XI for the knockout encounter.

Despite the USA entering the match as one of the tournament’s stronger teams, Pochettino dismissed any suggestion that his side should be considered favourites and praised Bosnia and Herzegovina for their quality and organisation

“Bosnia and Herzegovina are a very combative, aggressive and physical team, but they are also well organised and have a very good coach. When you watch their group-stage matches or their qualifier against Italy in March, you can see they have quality. It’s not just that they are aggressive and well organised; they have quality players and a coach who gives them the platform to perform,” Pochettino told FIFA.

The former Argentina defender also revealed that he has been preparing his players mentally for knockout football long before the tournament began, treating every important fixture as a must-win contest.

“Of course, tomorrow is a final, but the game against Paraguay was a final too. We tried to recreate that feeling in our warm-up matches because we wanted to recreate those emotions and that intensity,” he said.

Pochettino added that his coaching staff has also devoted considerable attention to preparing for the possibility of a penalty shootout.

“Yes, we will be ready if it comes to penalties. We started working with a few companies in that area because I think it’s really important. I don’t want to say too much about it, but we have been working on it because, as a coaching staff, we believe we can give the players tools to improve and help them find the best way to deal with situations like this,” he said.

The 54-year-old, however, maintained that recent results at the tournament have shown there are no easy opponents in the knockout rounds.

“We have complete respect for Bosnia and Herzegovina. I don’t believe we are the favourites. Over the past few days, we’ve all seen how difficult this World Cup is. I think it’s easier to talk about favourites after the matches, not before,” Pochettino added.

–IANS

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