Everything changes with a win. Everything gets louder with a loss.
The United States men’s national team enters Wednesday’s round of 32 matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina looking for its first World Cup knockout-stage victory over a European opponent.
It’s about more than another milestone on the USA’s résumé. A victory would send the team to the round of 16, where they’d have a chance to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. That run ended with a 1-0 loss to Germany.
USA defender Antonee Robinson recently joined Colin Cowherd on “The Herd” to discuss the upcoming matchup and the pressure surrounding the team.
“We’ve got the opportunity to do something incredibly special this summer on our home soil,” Robinson said. “We’re looking to win the tournament, and you can’t get there without winning this next game.”
Robinson didn’t hesitate when asked whether Wednesday’s match was the biggest in the USA’s history.
“I fully would say that this is the most important game that any of us played for the states,” Robinson said. “I hope we all go into it with that mindset of, you know, it’s do or die.”
The USA have looked like a completely different team three games into this year’s World Cup, winning two of its three group-stage matches, including a memorable 4-1 tournament-opening victory over Paraguay.
That same Paraguay squad recently knocked out Germany in the round of 32, further highlighting just how special this USA team has been.
The USA’s impressive group-stage showing won’t mean much without another win, and Robinson knows the challenge only gets tougher in the knockout stage.
“We’ve got to find a way to win, even if we don’t necessarily perform as well as we have,” Robinson said. “We just have to find a way to get a result.”
