When the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) faces Bosnia in the World Cup knockout stages in Santa Clara on Wednesday, it must overcome a long-standing hurdle – beating a European team in a World Cup match.
The USA has not beaten a European nation on the global stage in 24 years, since it recorded a shock 3-2 victory over Portugal in South Korea and Japan in 2002.
In six different World Cup campaigns since that win, including the remainder of the 2002 journey and the beginning of the 2026 campaign, the US has gone winless in 13 games against different European opponents.
It is a record that could have ended in the final group game against an already-eliminated Turkiye, but Mauricio Pochettino opted to heavily rotate his side — not without reason, as the US had already topped the group.
But while that game meant nothing, the way in which Turkiye’s physicality troubled the US was illuminating and could point to potential problems against Bosnia, admittedly one of the weakest UEFA nations competing in North America this summer.
Limited they may be, but Bosnia proved in qualifying for the World Cup that they are difficult to beat and more than capable of hanging on in games they should have no right to win, overcoming superior Wales and Italy teams in the European play-offs after taking both games to a penalty shootout.
They were also outplayed for large parts of their World Cup opener against Canada but emerged with a draw that ultimately helped secure their passage to the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams in the competition.
It would be foolish to write them off as some US fans on social media are wont to do, especially given America’s struggles against nations across the Atlantic.
That win over Portugal was very much the exception rather than the rule for America at World Cups, standing as the only victory the USMNT team has recorded over a European opponent since a shock win over England in 1950.
The Portugal victory also landed squarely in the shock category, with the US hitting a Portugal team featuring the likes of Figo, Pauleta, and Rui Costa for three goals in the opening 36 minutes before withstanding a ferocious fightback from the Portuguese to claim a 3-2 victory.
Normal service resumed shortly afterward, however, with the US going down to a 3-1 defeat against an already-eliminated Poland in its final group game before losing to Germany in the quarter-finals.
The US had played seven games against European teams in the three World Cups before that Portugal win, losing six and drawing one.
In the 13 World Cup games against European opposition since that Portugal victory, the US has lost seven and drawn six, registering impressive draws against the likes of England, Italy, and Portugal but also struggling against Slovenia and Wales.
American struggles against European opponents are not just limited to World Cups, however.
The US has not won a game against UEFA opposition in almost five years, a run of 12 games that includes 10 defeats in a row.
The last time they won a game against European opposition was, by coincidence, against Bosnia in December 2021, when Cole Bassett struck late on to secure a 1-0 win over a Bosnian side reduced to 10 players before half-time.
It is hard to read too much into that fixture, given that it was a friendly five years ago and both sides fielded drastically weakened sides, but it is noteworthy that Bosnia set out in a low block, which caused significant problems for the US.
They will be perfectly content to frustrate their American opponents again in front of a partisan crowd in Santa Clara on Wednesday, and Pochettino’s side will be required to be patient the longer the game remains goalless.
It will likely take some outside-the-box thinking if America is to end its European hoodoo on Wednesday and advance to the round-of-16, where more potential European opponents await in the form of Belgium – a chance, perhaps, for revenge for 2014.
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