San Francisco, July 1: U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino stated that his team is ready to tackle every possible scenario in their upcoming Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The U.S. qualified for the knockout stage as the top team in Group D after defeating Paraguay and Australia.
In a conversation with FIFA, Pochettino remarked, “Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very combative and aggressive team. They are well-organized. If you look at their group-stage match against Italy in March or their qualifiers, you can see their quality. They have fantastic players and a coach who provides them with a platform to perform.”
The former Argentine defender also mentioned that he has been mentally preparing his players for the knockout stage long before the tournament began. “We treat every match like it’s a must-win. The game against Paraguay was like a final for us,” he added.
Pochettino noted that his coaching staff has focused significantly on preparing for the possibility of penalty shootouts. “If it comes to penalties, we will be ready. We have started working in that area. I think it’s really important. I don’t want to say too much about it, but we are working on it because, as a coaching staff, we believe we can give our players the tools to improve and help them find the best way to handle such situations.”
He emphasized that recent tournament results show there are no easy opponents in the knockout rounds. “We have great respect for Bosnia and Herzegovina. I don’t think we are the favorites. In the past few days, we have all seen how tough this World Cup is.”
The match between the U.S. and Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled for July 2 at 5:30 AM.
Leave a Comment