US Ready for Bosnia Test After Ream Warning

TDT | Manama

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United States captain Tim Ream warned on Monday that last-32 opponents Bosnia-Herzegovina did not reach the World Cup by a "fluke," even as American expectations soar for a first knockout victory in nearly a quarter-century. Widely perceived as a beatable foe by many US pundits and fans, Bosnia are the third-lowest ranked side left in the tournament, and have never played a World Cup knockout game previously. But Bosnia have already caused one seismic upset by beating four-time winners Italy to qualify for the tournament via Europe's playoffs, and Ream warned that his side can take nothing for granted.

Ream told reporters that they know Bosnia is a strong, physical team that qualified and made it through the group stages for a reason, speaking as the US team prepared to leave its base camp near Los Angeles for Wednesday's game in the San Francisco Bay Area. He noted that it is not a fluke that they went through the playoffs, knocked Italy out, and made it to the World Cup, meaning the US will have to pay attention in all aspects and all moments of the game.

Optimism has soared in the US since the co-hosts opened their World Cup campaign with one-sided wins over Paraguay and Australia. Though a narrow dead-rubber loss to Turkey on Thursday slightly tempered sky-rocketing expectations, the US still topped their group. They remain heavy favorites to progress against Bosnia, which would mark only the second US World Cup knockout win ever, following a 2-0 victory over Mexico in 2002.

The Bosnians progressed from Group B by finishing third, thanks to a draw with co-hosts Canada and victory over Qatar, but were thrashed 4-1 by Switzerland. A largely defensive side, Bosnia rank 33rd among the World Cup's 48 teams by possession, 38th by shots attempted, and 41st by shots in the opposing team's penalty area.

Arguably the greatest moment in Bosnian football history came in March with victory over Italy in a penalty shootout at the end of a tense playoff. While Ream said he expects set pieces to play a major role on Wednesday, he does not expect Bosnia to just be defensive, adding that they are in the tournament for a reason, went through a bit of a gauntlet to get there, and are just a really tough team at the end of the day.